WASHINGTON, D.C. – President Joe Biden announced executive action to address the country’s failed approach to marijuana with a pardon of all federally-prosecuted persons for misdemeanor marijuana crimes.
According to the White House, President Biden will accomplish this in three steps:
One, the President is pardoning all prior federal offenses of simple marijuana possession. This pardon applies to all persons convicted of simple possession of marijuana under District of Columbia law as well.
There are thousands of people with prior federal convictions for marijuana possession who may be denied housing, employment, or educational opportunities as a result. This pardon will help relieve those collateral consequences.
The President has directed the Attorney General to develop an administrative process to issue certificates of pardon to eligible individuals.
Second, the President is urging all governors to do the same with regard to state offenses of simple possession of marijuana. Just as no one should be in federal prison solely due to the possession of marijuana, no one should be in a local jail or a state prison for that reason either.
Third, the President is asking the Secretary of HHS and the Attorney General to review expeditiously how marijuana is scheduled under federal law. Federal law currently classifies marijuana in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act as the same schedule as for heroin and LSD, and it’s even higher than the classification for fentanyl and methamphetamine — the drugs that are driving our overdose epidemic.
And the President will make clear today that even as federal and state marijuana law changes, important limitations on trafficking, marketing, and underage sales should stay in place.
4 thoughts on “President Joe Biden pardons thousands of people convicted of marijuana crimes”
What a joke, a stunt before the midterm elections. There are currently 0 people in Federal prision for marijuana charges.
True, but it is a start to de-criminalize marijuana. As for the timing, maybe, but it is something he promised to take on in his 2020 campaign. If Republicans cared what the majority of Americans felt about marijuana, they should get behind this.
maybe so, but to make a grandstand speach about this when nobody is in Federal prision for this charge seems worthless to me, yet all the media ran with it without even checking the facts as if it was a big deal, and it is nothing but air talk.
Are you absolutely positive there’s nobody in federal prison for marijuana? Excuse me if I sound rude I don’t mean to. Educate yourself on the benefits of marijuana. There is many medical benefits to it. I’m just tired of everybody being ignorant on the subject when if you honestly educate yourself and do the research it is a great medical benefit. Did you know that by taking cannabis it attacks cancer cells but leaves the white cells intact? So it could help cancer from spreading and it has no side effects like blood clots heart attacks stroke and all sorts of other things that I won’t mention. Do some research and I bet you will find nothing harmful about marijuana except driving while buzzed.