Biden Issues Pardons for Certain Nonviolent Marijuana Offenses

On Friday morning, President Joe Biden issued a presidential proclamation to pardon certain marijuana offenses after he took last year for thousands of people convicted of possession under federal law.

“Criminal records for marijuana use and possession have imposed needless barriers to employment, housing, and educational opportunities,” Biden said in the statement. “Too many lives have been upended because of our failed approach to marijuana. It’s time that we right these wrongs.”

Biden is also commuting the prison sentences of 11 people convicted of nonviolent drug offenses, including some who have received mandatory life sentences.

During his 2020 campaign, Biden called for the automatic expungement of cannabis use convictions. The President issued a similar pardon proclamation last October, and in March, the Justice Department opened an online portal for eligible applicants to apply for pardon certificates.

Estimates provided at that time by the US Sentencing Commission suggested that nearly 7,000 Americans with low-level federal marijuana-related convictions would be eligible for relief under the directive.

The president urged state Governors to do the same, “Just as no one should be in a federal prison solely due to the use or possession of marijuana, no one should be in a local jail or state prison for that reason, either. That’s why I continue to urge Governors to do the same with regard to state offenses and applaud those who have since taken action.”

It is unclear how many additional citizens with federal records will be eligible for relief under the President’s latest proclamation.