The Biden administration has announced that they will pardon low-level federal marijuana convictions. This is part of an overall effort to decriminalize the drug on a national level. It is not quite clear who will be affected by this move. Marijuana, although not legal on a federal level, is often treated as harmless by the criminal justice system. Police officers have gone on television and said that they don’t even arrest people with small amounts of weed in their cars when they get pulled over.
Attaching weed to a federal indictment is almost a waste of time and resources unless there are other, more serious charges associated with it. And that raises another question. If a federal inmate has a list of 18 charges that they are in prison for, including one for marijuana, are they released? Is their time cut down? There isn’t much in the way of transparency as it relates to how this weed pardoning promise will happen. What is crystal clear is the timing of it. Midterm elections are upon us. Appealing to people who are against the “war on drugs” at this moment in time may give the failing Democratic party message a much-needed spark.
SOURCES:
Here’s who is not eligible for Biden’s marijuana pardon | CNN Politics
Opinion | Biden’s marijuana pardons might help the decriminalization effort – The Washington Post
Cannabis legalization ‘odds are better’ following President Biden’s possession pardons: Analyst
Biden Marijuana Pardon: Cannabis Laws and Decriminalization Status in Your State – CNET
Biden Pardons Thousands of People Convicted of Simple Marijuana Possession – The New York Times
President Biden’s pardons for marijuana possession, explained – Vox
Biden Just Made Marijuana Reform a Major 2022 Issue. Democrats Should Run With It. | The Nation
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