US pardons people convicted for marijuana possession under federal law

US president Joe Biden introduced a pardon for hundreds of individuals convicted for possession of marijuana below federal regulation

By Tiffany O’Callaghan

On 6 October, US president Joe Biden introduced plans to reform US marijuana coverage, together with issuing a pardon of all prior federal offenses of straightforward marijuana possession – and calling on state governors to do the identical.

“Simply as nobody must be in a federal jail solely as a result of possession of marijuana, nobody must be in a neighborhood jail or state jail for that motive, both,” mentioned Biden in a press release launched by the White Home. His pardon applies to hundreds of individuals charged with marijuana possession below federal regulation.

He additionally known as upon the US lawyer normal Merrick Garland and US secretary of well being and human companies Xavier Becerra to guage how marijuana is assessed below US federal regulation. Underneath present legal guidelines it’s within the class reserved for probably the most harmful substances.

Using medical marijuana is at the moment authorized in 37 US states and Washington, DC, and 19 states permit adults to buy hashish for leisure use. But regardless of this, many individuals stay incarcerated for easy possession of hashish.

Even after launch, felony data for marijuana possession impose “useless obstacles to employment, housing, and academic alternatives,” mentioned Biden within the assertion. He additionally famous that regardless of related marijuana consumption amongst completely different races and ethnic teams, “Black and brown individuals have been arrested, prosecuted and convicted at disproportionate charges”.

Certainly, a number of research assist this remark. Information from 2018, as an example, exhibits that greater than 53 per cent of white individuals over age 18 within the US report utilizing hashish sooner or later of their lives in comparison with 45 per cent of Black individuals. But Black persons are 3.6 occasions extra more likely to be arrested for possession.

In June, the American Medical Affiliation (AMA) issued a press release calling on states to expunge felony marijuana fees from individuals’s data when the associated offenses have been later legalised.

“It merely isn’t honest to damage a life based mostly on actions that lead to convictions however are subsequently legalised or decriminalized,” mentioned AMA spokesperson Scott Ferguson on the time.