Just as with the prohibition of alcohol in the 1920s, the federal prohibition of marijuana has been unnecessarily cruel, wasting billions of dollar, unjustly harming millions of lives, and furthering racist policies.
Jim McClendon's reasoning resembled those conservatives have made in Texas as well, stating any loosening of the law will eventually lead to full-blown recreational cannabis reform.
There are still too many instances of law enforcement arresting people and/or seizing their hemp products based on a misunderstanding that they're illegal marijuana substances.