By Oyintari Ben
The announcement that President Joe Biden has pardoned thousands of people convicted of marijuana use on Thursday caused marijuana stocks to surge, as he said the present system “makes no sense.”
Only federal prisoners convicted of “simple marijuana possession” and those accused in the District of Columbia are eligible for pardons.
However, Biden urged governors across the nation to follow suit.
In a statement, Biden added that “no one should be in a local jail or state prison for that reason, either. Just as no one should be in a federal prison purely due to the use of marijuana.”
According to a White House official, the pardons affected more than 6,500 people who had previously been convicted of simple marijuana possession, and others affected were granted pardons under D.C. law. Those who were not US citizens or were present unlawfully in the nation during their detention will not be eligible for pardons.
In addition to the pardons, Biden also declared that he had directed Attorney General Merrick Garland and Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra to start evaluating marijuana’s classification under federal drug laws.
Marijuana is now classified as a schedule one substance under federal drug sentencing guidelines, “the same as heroin and LSD – and more severe than fentanyl,” according to Biden. There is no sense in it.
According to a spokesman for the organisation, Biden’s proclamation will be implemented primarily by the Office of the Pardon Attorney of the Justice Department.
She added that the administration would put in place a legal procedure to issue pardoned people with a certificate of pardon in the upcoming days.
The proclamation also formally restored to these people all the civil, political, and other rights that had been withheld from them due to their criminal convictions.
According to Biden, “thousands of people were convicted for marijuana possession and may be denied employment, housing, or educational prospects as a result.” “My pardon will relieve them of this burden.”
Police detained more people for marijuana-related offences in 2018 than they did for violent crimes.
Due to misguided attitude to marijuana, “too many lives have been upended,” Biden remarked. “We need to make these wrongs right,” he said.
“The efforts needed to heal the evils of the past and define a course for responsible, lawful cannabis markets in the future have been set into motion,” stated Biden in his proclamation.
