On Monday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) joined the Pod Save America podcast and revealed who her “dream blunt rotation” would be when asked. It was hypothetical, as she doesn’t smoke, and the senator kept things positive in her responses.

In what they called a special President’s Day edition episode Feb. 19, Pod Save America co-host Jon Favreau (the former Barack Obama staffer, not the MCU actor) asked her about her push to deschedule pot, and also who she’s most and least likely to invite to a blunt rotation out of a list of pre-selected choices. 

The list of choices for the “dream blunt rotation” included politicians like President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, and Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), as well as celebrities like Snoop Dogg, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, and Taylor Swift.

Warren played along, not keeping things too serious, revealing that she could only pick one person for her dream rotation. “I’m just doing The Rock four times,” she said, laughing.

When Favreau asked about her “nightmare blunt rotation,” she was given the choices of her perceived opponents: Elon Musk, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, and Mark Zuckerberg. 

Warren declined to answer, keeping things classy.   

“I’m starting to feel a little sick,” she laughed. “That is really awful to contemplate.”

Earlier in the conversation, Favreau also asked her about a more serious topic—her recent push to deschedule cannabis, joining several other lawmakers. 

“You and other Democratic senators recently asked the Biden administration to remove marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act—entirely—which would decriminalize it on a federal level. Have you heard back from DOJ or the DEA, or had any conversations with the administration about this?

“DEA?” She asked. “We’re pushing on them now. I want them to deschedule marijuana altogether. Look, if the Republicans didn’t block us, we’d run this through Congress. You just legalize it.

“There still could be regulations around it like there is around alcohol—you’ve got to be a certain age, you got to have certain disclosures about the potency and so on, I’m all for that,” Warren said. “But I really want to say to the DEA: Guys, come on. It is not 1958, and we don’t need to be terrified of this stuff. Let’s just deschedule it and go forward.” 

Pod Save America is hosted by former Obama aides Favreau, along with Jon Lovett, Dan Pfeiffer, and Tommy Vietor.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s Push to Deschedule

During an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Warren discussed the push to deschedule cannabis fully rather than moving it from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act.

“Right now marijuana is scheduled, it’s called, as a drug by the DEA at the same risk as heroin,” Warren said. “And that means not only is it illegal, you can’t even do research on it. It’s, so no—and what we’re saying in this letter is, ‘Guys get with it,’ at the DEA. It’s not 1954. More than half of all states have legalized marijuana.”

In a letter led by Warren and Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), along with nine other Democrats including U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) among others. 

The letter urges the DEA and Biden administration to deschedule cannabis altogether, recognizing that rescheduling to Schedule III would be a “significant step forward” but would not resolve the “worst harms of the current system.”

“Thus, the DEA should deschedule marijuana altogether. Marijuana’s placement in the CSA has had a devastating impact on our communities and is increasingly out of step with state law and public opinion,” the legislators said in the letter dated Jan. 30.

Warren routinely calls for a just and equitable cannabis industry. But the biggest change possible would be removing cannabis entirely from the list of controlled substances.

Biden could use a boost this upcoming general election, given what’s at stake. A January survey, conducted by Lake Research Partners, revealed a number of key findings surrounding registered voters and attitudes surrounding cannabis, namely that Biden could boost his favorability by 11% among younger voters should cannabis move from Schedule I to Schedule III.

The survey demonstrated the support behind rescheduling cannabis, with 58% of participants showing support and 19% opposed. Researchers wrote that support also crossed most demographic lines, and no more than one-third of voters in any major subgroup was opposed to rescheduling. Young voters, those aged 18-25, showed the strongest levels of support for rescheduling at 65%, with nearly half indicating they felt strongly about the issue. Support was strong across age demographics, with seniors showing support by a double-digit margin.

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The GOP’s nominee to replace Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-California) as Speaker of the House—one of the most powerful positions in the U.S. government—has opposed nearly every cannabis bill he’s encountered during the past 15 years in office.

Scalise dropped out of the House speaker race Thursday evening.

In a closed-door meeting to replace McCarthy as speaker Wednesday, Rep. Steve Scalise (R-Louisiana) was selected as the clear nominee. Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), the next contender, lost the nomination in a vote 113 to 99. On Thursday however, Scalise appeared to be short on votes to become the next Speaker.

McCarthy was successfully dethroned as Speaker of the House Oct. 2, in a rare ouster led by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Florida). The Associated Press reports that the speaker ouster was a “first in U.S. history” and done with the efforts of a hard-right faction that splintered. 

Given that Congress faces a Nov. 17 spending bill deadline in order to prevent a government shutdown, the sense of urgency to select a new speaker is rising.

“First, I want to thank my House Republican colleagues for just designating me as the speaker, Scalise said upon hearing the news of his nomination. “Obviously, we still have work to do. We’re going to have to go upstairs on the House floor and resolve this and then get the House opened again. We have a lot of work to do, not just in the House for the people of this country, but we see how dangerous of a world it is and how things can change so quickly.”

The future of cannabis legislation at the federal level hinges on cooperation from House leadership.

Who Is Rep. Steve Scalise in Regards to Cannabis?

Cannabis reports are flagging Scalise as a potential roadblock for federal cannabis bills, if elected Speaker. NORML gave him an “F” grade, noting that he opposed nearly every cannabis bill he’s ever voted on—the sole exception being The Medical Marijuana Research Act or H.R. 5657 in 2022. One time in 2016, he voted against the Veterans Equal Access Amendment, and voted against two versions of the SAFE Banking Act a few years later.

While not perfect, at least with McCarthy, he voted twice in favor of federal cannabis banking legislation. 

The Dales Report agreed and called Scalise a “cannabis adversary,” and pointed out that the next Speaker could impact the Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation (SAFER) Banking Act. The good news is that if Scalise is elected speaker, and blocks the SAFER Banking Act, the bill can still become law.

When asked the question, “Do you support the legalization of marijuana at the federal level?” his spokesperson replied. “Congressman Scalise is a staunch conservative who likes to know what his constituents are thinking on issues,” Scalise spokesman T.J. Tatum wrote in an email to CQ Roll Call. “Scalise is opposed to the legalization of marijuana because, as noted by law enforcement officials, it is a gateway to more dangerous drugs, but he always appreciates learning the views of the people throughout his district.”

“Let me get this straight: Nancy Pelosi is blocking a bill to deliver unused Paycheck Protection Program funds to workers and small businesses,” Scalise tweeted on Nov. 20, 2020. “But she managed to find time for a vote on pot legislation this week.”

“What are Pelosi’s Democrats doing this week?” Scalise tweeted on March 31, 2022. “Nothing on inflation. Nothing on the border. Nothing on gas prices. Nothing on the supply chain. Nothing on crime. A marijuana bill. What a joke.”

Why The New Speaker Selection Matters

The Speaker acts as the de facto leader of the U.S. House of Representatives, and is a major component of America’s system of checks and balances designed to keep any one body from gaining too much power.

In a 135-88 vote, Republicans rejected a proposed rule change introduced by Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) that would have required a GOP speaker contender to have 217 or more votes before advancing to the House floor.

Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio) said in a tweet that unless Jordan drops out, he will still vote for him on the House floor—even if Scalise wins the nomination. Rep. Gaetz told reporters he would support Scalise on the floor, calling him an “upgrade” from McCarthy.

One-fourth of Republicans said in a poll that they approve of the decision to remove McCarthy as Speaker, and three in 10 Republicans said they believe it was a mistake, according to a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

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Voting for marijuana legalization was too risky for Democrats running in moderate districts.

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