President Biden calls for a federal review of simple weed offenses. Biden will need an act of congress to decriminalizing marijuana. On Thursday Biden issued a blanket pardon for all prior federal offenses for "simple" possession of marijuana. President Biden also urged governors to issue pardons for state offenses involving marijuana.
President Biden also tasked the Department of Health and Human Services and Attorney General Merrick Garland to “expeditiously” review how marijuana is scheduled under federal law, the first step toward potentially easing a federal classification that currently places marijuana in the same category as heroin and LSD.
“No one should be in jail just for using or possessing marijuana,” Biden said in a video announcing his executive actions. “It’s legal in many states, and criminal records for marijuana possession have led to needless barriers to employment, housing, and educational opportunities. And that’s before you address the racial disparities around who suffers the consequences. While white and Black and brown people use marijuana at similar rates, Black and brown people are arrested, prosecuted, and convicted at disproportionate rates.”
“Too many lives have been upended because of our failed approach to marijuana. It’s time that we right these wrongs,” the President said. - CNN news.
This has been a great win for advocates that have been pushing the topic for months. All this comes weeks before midterm elections. Updates on election results will be posted here.
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