In the present day, President Biden issued a proclamation granting pardons to all individuals who dedicated or have been convicted of “simple marijuana possession” beneath federal and District of Columbia legislation. That is an admirable step in the proper path. However, as Motive’s C.J. Ciaramella explains, it is solely a modest growth of a marijuana possession pardon initiative Biden undertook final yr, when he pardoned all US residents and everlasting residents who had dedicated the offense of easy marijuana possession beneath the federal Managed Substances Act and DC legislation as much as that time.
As Ciaramella notes, the brand new proclamation expands pardons to sure offenders convicted of possession on federal lands. I’d add that it additionally covers anybody who dedicated the related offenses within the fourteen months since Biden’s earlier pardons (which solely coated individuals who had dedicated them as much as early October of final yr). Additionally, not like final yr’s pardons, this yr’s additionally covers individuals who dedicated the DC offense of “attempted simple possession of marijuana,” which is a definite crime from precise possession. Undecided why this wasn’t included within the October 2022 proclamation. Maybe it was an oversight.
Like final yr’s marijuana pardons, this yr’s most likely will not truly free anybody from jail. Just about everybody serving a federal jail sentence for marijuana offenses is there for costs associated to distribution. However the pardons will nonetheless profit recipients in methods I summarized in my submit in regards to the earlier spherical of pardons:
The truth that the pardons could not truly free any present jail inmates, doesn’t suggest they’ll don’t have any impact. Biden rightly notes that the pardons will nonetheless assist some individuals who could “be denied employment, housing, or educational opportunities as a result” of their previous convictions. A legal file for marijuana possession may also harm a dad or mum’s probabilities in a toddler custody dispute. The pardons can handle these points by successfully wiping these convictions off the books.
Restricted, as they’re, Biden’s marijuana possession pardons are commendable. However he may have finished way more. A latest Gallup ballot exhibits 70% public assist for marijuana legalization, together with even a majority of Republicans (55%). If Biden had made a push for merely abolishing federal legal guidelines banning possession and distribution of marijuana, he may most likely have gotten it finished, particularly when Democrats had management of each homes of Congress throughout his first two years in workplace.
And, as Jacob Sullum has identified, Biden’s distinction between possession and distribution makes little sense:
The ethical logic of Biden’s distinction between easy possession and different marijuana offenses is tough to observe. He says utilizing marijuana shouldn’t be handled as against the law. If that’s the case, how can serving to individuals use marijuana justify sending anybody to jail? And why ought to individuals convicted of aiding hashish consumption be saddled with felony information for the remainder of their lives?
There may be equally no justification for excluding offenders who aren’t US residents or everlasting residents from the scope of the pardons. The justice of punishing individuals for marijuana possession would not rely upon citizenship or residency standing.
Biden right now additionally pardoned 11 individuals serving disproportionately lengthy sentences for numerous different drug offenses.
In my submit on final yr’s pardons, I famous that Biden’s use of the pardon energy is much better than Trump’s, which centered on cronies and political allies. Higher than Trump on this space is a very low customary of comparability. Nevertheless it’s a sadly related one, as Trump seems prone to turn out to be the GOP nominee once more.