Biden White House allegedly asks staffers to resign if they have used marijuana

The Biden White House asked staffers to fill out a background check form wherein they would respond as to whether or not they ever tried the drug marijuana. Many of those that responded "yes" were then asked to resign.

They were told that it wasn't a big deal—then they were asked to resign over the alleged infraction. This is true even for staffers from states where the drug is legal.

This was after the administration reportedly changed their guidelines to allow staff to have participated in "limited" previous marijuana use. The New York Post reports that the Biden administration issued guidelines instructing staffers to not use marijuana during their White House stints and to submit to random drug tests.

After responding "yes" on the forms, those who admitted to the drug use were phoned by White House director of management and administration Anne Filipic.

Filipic reportedly "led a series of one-on-one calls with staffers this month, asking those who admitted to past marijuana use to resign or be placed in a remote work program."

The Daily Beast spoke to a former staffer who said "It's exclusively targeting younger staff and staff who came from states where it was legal."

Another former staffer said that "The policies were never explained, the threshold for what was excusable and what was inexcusable was never explained."

According to The Motley Fool, Biden stated that he had an interest in decriminalizing the drug at a federal level. In January 2019, he said: "I haven't always been right. I know we haven't always gotten things right [regarding incarcerations for marijuana offenses]; but I've always tried."

And only a few month later, in May of that year, he told New Hampshire voters that "Nobody should be in jail for smoking marijuana." At that time, campaign spokesperson Andrew Bates told CNN:

"Vice President Biden does not believe anyone should be in jail simply for smoking or possessing marijuana. He supports decriminalizing marijuana and automatically expunging prior criminal records for marijuana possession, so those affected don't have to figure out how to petition for it or pay for a lawyer."

In 2010, he told ABC: "There's a difference between sending someone to jail for a few ounces [of marijuana] and legalizing it. The punishment should fit the crime. But I think legalization is a mistake. I still believe [marijuana] is a gateway drug."

During the so-called War on Drugs in the 1980s and 90s, Biden was very harsh on drug use. During the years 1986 to 1990, then Senator Biden sponsored several pieces of legislation that were tough on drugs, and drug users.