President Joe Biden announced on Thursday that he will pardon all prior federal offenses of simple marijuana possession.
“Sending people to prison for possessing marijuana has upended too many lives and incarcerated people for conduct that many states no longer prohibit,” Biden said in a statement. “Criminal records for marijuana possession have also imposed needless barriers to employment, housing, and educational opportunities. And while white and Black and brown people use marijuana at similar rates, Black and brown people have been arrested, prosecuted, and convicted at disproportionate rates.”
Marijuana is currently classified as a schedule 1 drug, the same category as heroin and LSD. On Thursday, Biden said he is asking the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Attorney General to “expeditiously” review how marijuana is scheduled under federal law.
Since most convictions for simple possession of marijuana occur at the state level, Biden is encouraging governors to take similar steps to pardon state simple marijuana possession crimes.
“Just as no one should be in a Federal prison solely due to the possession of marijuana, no one should be in a local jail or state prison for that reason, either,” Biden said in the statement.
Thursday’s announcement is the first time a president has taken steps towards removing federal criminal penalties for marijuana possession and the first move by Biden towards fulfilling his campaign promise of decriminalization.
The Department of Justice will be issuing certificates of pardon to those eligible in the coming days, a DOJ official told NBC News.
