Biden pardons federal marijuana possession convictions, orders review of Schedule I status
President Joe Biden in early October pardoned all federal marijuana possession convictions and announced plans for his administrations to review whether it should remain a Schedule I drug.
“Sending people to jail for possessing marijuana has upended too many lives — for conduct that is legal in many states,” Biden wrote on Twitter. “That’s before you address the clear racial disparities around prosecution and conviction. Today, we begin to right these wrongs.”
According to the New York Times, the pardon announcement will clear the records of approximately 6,500 people convicted on federal charges of simple possession, as well as thousands more convicted in the District of Columbia.
In a statement released with the pardon announcement, Biden called the act of sending people to jail for using or possessing marijuana a “failed approach.” He also specifically cited the racial disparities found in marijuana enforcement, noting that white people and people of color use marijuana at the same rates, but that Black and Brown people are arrested, prosecuted and convicted at disproportionate rates.
Biden urged governors to follow his lead and pardon those jailed on state convictions.
The president also said he is initiating a review of how marijuana is classified under the Controlled Substance Act. It is currently a Schedule I drug, meant for the most dangerous substances and those without medical use.
“This is the same schedule as for heroin and LSD, and even higher than the classification of fentanyl and methamphetamine — the drugs that are driving our overdose epidemic,” Biden said.
-Brian Beckley