Biden Announces He Will Pardon Marijuana Convictions
President Joe Biden has decided to issue an executive order to pardon any American who has been convicted federally of the “simple possession of marijuana.”
During his campaign for President, Biden promised to decriminalize marijuana across the country. He said that, “no one should be in jail because of marijuana,” also stating that he was in support of legalizing the drug for medicinal purposes. Along with this, he said he would “leave decisions regarding recreational use up to the states.”
We’re not there yet, but it’s a small step towards him staying true to his word. Pardoning marijuana possession at the federal level will only excuse a small number of people who were convicted, as most of these charges happen at the state level. As of right now, marijuana is still entirely illegal in twelve states, meaning people who have been punished in any of those states will still have to serve their time.
In a statement, Biden recently said that “sending people to prison for possessing marijuana has upended too many lives and incarcerated people for conduct that many states no longer prohibit,” possibly alluding to the fact that marijuana is entirely legalized in nearly half the country, and decriminalized in 38 states.
He also brought up that criminal records over marijuana possession have needlessly put barriers between people getting employed or getting approved for a living situation. In addition, he mentioned that people of color are statistically far more likely to be put in jail or prison.
During his time as a candidate, Biden was condemned for a 1994 bill that he helped write which made penalties for drug crimes harsher, which resulted in more people, especially minorities, being sent to jail. Perhaps this is him trying to make amends with his past, or maybe he’s really changed his mindset.
“We classify marijuana at the same level as heroin, it makes no sense,” he said in a briefing on Tuesday. Many Americans support the legalization of marijuana, or at least the decriminalization of it. A 2021 poll showed that 68% of Americans supported legalizing the plant. It looks like Biden is sticking to his promise to leave legalization at the state level, but also sticking to the promise to help get people out of prison who did not commit violent crimes.
This executive order is estimated to benefit 6,500 people who have been convicted and jailed for marijuana possession alone. According to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, more than 99% of drug offenders who were in prison were also accused of trafficking drugs, and not simply having them for personal use.
Today, October 6th, President Biden tweeted, “as I’ve said before, no one should be in jail just for using or possessing marijuana. Today, I’m taking steps to end our failed approach. Allow me to lay them out.” It’s not as far as many Americans would like our country to be, but it’s nice to see Biden following through on one of his campaigning promises.
