Pa Lt. Governor John Fetterman Sees Legal Cannabis as a Common Sense Component for America
By Andrew Ward (Originally Published in The High Times on May 20, 2021)
Always Pro-Weed, John Fetterman’s Beliefs Grow in Braddock
Unlike most American politicians, Fetterman says he never had an evolution on cannabis reform. “There was never a point in my life where I thought it should be illegal,” he stated, adding that Braddock was “undeniably formative” in showing him first-hand how destructive drug prohibition is.
He believes it’s time American politicians admit they were wrong on the drug war, acknowledging the effects it continues to inflict on individuals and communities. He hopes to keep that connection in people’s minds as legalization spreads across America. Fetterman endeavors to advance pot-policy with his actions and his deliberate choice of words. Preferring to use the term “weed,” Fetterman has pushed back on requests to change his terminology, stating that weed is the term used in his community, and its usage helps keep the topic accessible.
John Fetterman considers Braddock “emblematic of what happened to a lot of communities and places in Pennsylvania, across the country.” Inequality began to rise in the mid-90s. In 2001, Fetterman moved to town, first as part of an AmeriCorps effort to help local youth. All too often, he’d see students judged or turned away because they smelled like cannabis. Fetterman said he put a stop to the practice because he was just happy to see the students there in the first place — their cannabis use shouldn’t be a factor in their participation.
The hardships created by drug records were not lost on Fetterman, who said that numerous people he worked with were held back from obtaining better-paying jobs, couldn’t pay off legal fines, and all-around saw their lives made harder by a past drug offense.
