After years of dragging his feet, Joe Biden is ready to relax federal marijuana laws in response to activist pressure. 

Biden has already been accused of bribing Americans to vote for him by forgiving billions in student loans, and his move to "reschedule" marijuana likely springs from similar motives.

Schedule I drugs have a high potential for abuse and no accepted medical use. They include heroin, LSD, and until now, cannabis.

Biden's shift on marijuana

Biden will reclassify pot as a Schedule III substance. This basically means that the federal government will view marijuana as a less potent drug, with lighter criminal sanctions for those in possession of it.

It's a big shift from Biden, who was a driving force behind strict anti-drug laws during his Senate career.

When he ran for president in 2020, Biden was still being mocked by fellow Democrats for clinging to views that reformers consider archaic.

Four years later, Biden is making an aggressive push to win over young and minority voters ahead of a daunting re-election battle with Donald Trump.

Some say Biden is putting politics above public health. While public opinion on marijuana has grown more tolerant in recent years, the drug has become more potent.

"This is a political act — it’s not following the science,” said former Drug Enforcement Administrator Tim Shea. “It’s politics in election year. It’s like forgiving student loans. It’s aimed at a select group of people and the impact is going to be bad.”

“Law enforcement can’t believe it’s happening,” Shea added.

Politics over public health

Last week, Biden pardoned five crack dealers, and he has postponed a crackdown on menthol cigarettes over concerns about backlash in the black community.

In short, it looks like Biden is making an awful lot of consequential decisions based on political motives.

While that's not unusual for a president, it shows that he's far from the statesman he pretends to be. He's focused on winning re-election, no matter the cost to public health.

Still, Democrats are touting Biden's move on marijuana as a step in the right direction. Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer (D-Ny.) said Biden was turning the page on "draconian" laws.

“DEA should now follow through on this important step to greatly reduce the harm caused by draconian marijuana laws," he said.