Big victories in four states for marijuana legalization are a signal to President-elect Joe Biden to adopt a more progressive national agenda, according to Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. Writing in separate op-ed articles, the Senators make the case that wins for cannabis reform—and Oregon’s approval of a measure to decriminalize illicit drugs such as heroin and cocaine—should influence Biden and lawmakers as they craft a post-Trump agenda. Both Sanders and Harris ran on full legalization platforms, along with Vice President-elect Harris, but Biden’s policy avoids federal-level legalization in favor of decriminalization and letting states decide on legalization.
Meanwhile, a new study published in JAMA finds that e-cigarette use—even among those who quit—is associated with a nearly 30 percent higher risk of respiratory diseases. The survey of more than 21,000 individuals also shows that those who continue to vape have a 70 percent higher risk of emphysema and a 30 percent higher risk of chronic bronchitis or asthma.
And finally, the New York Times Style section takes up a critical issue concerning marijuana: Whether legalization in New Jersey will finally make the state cooler than New York. No answer is provided, but it does quote a state lawmaker who is helping draft legislation saying that he’d like to see New Jersey be like Amsterdam, with takeout services, marijuana cafes and other public consumption areas so that pot is “infused, literally, into the culture and society.”