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Thursday, October 6, 2022

President Biden Issues Executive Order to Pardon Those Convicted of Federal Simple Marijuana Possession

“Socalj” for Borderland Beat

The Executive order has garnered a lot of publicity, but the fact is that less than 100 people each year are charged with marijuana possession in federal courts.

Biden stopped short of decriminalizing marijuana, granting pardons to around 6,500 people convicted of simple marijuana possession but only federally. Most who have been arrested and jailed for marijuana possession have served time at a state and local levels and they will not be eligible for pardons and felony convictions could remain. According to The Last Prisoner Project, there are over 40,000 people in prison on marijuana based charges in the United States, even while over a dozen states have legalized recreational marijuana and cannabis products.

President Joe Biden is taking his first major steps toward decriminalizing marijuana, fulfilling a campaign pledge to erase prior federal possession convictions and beginning the process of potentially loosening federal classification of the drug. As part of the announcement, Biden also encouraged governors to take similar steps to pardon state simple marijuana possession charges, a move that would potentially affect many thousands more Americans.

Biden on Thursday pardoned all prior federal offenses of simple marijuana possession, a move that senior administration officials said would affect thousands of Americans charged with that crime. The announcement comes a month ahead of critical November elections that will determine control of Congress. Some candidates – in particular Pennsylvania Democratic Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, who is running for his state’s US Senate seat – have made the issue of marijuana legalization central to their campaigns. When Fetterman and Biden met last month, the candidate said he would raise the issue with the President. At the same time, Democrats have sought to rebuff allegations they are soft on crime, an issue that has risen to the top of some voters’ agendas in certain swing districts.

And the President will task the Department of Health and Human Services and Attorney General Merrick Garland to “expeditiously” review how marijuana is scheduled under federal law, the first step toward potentially easing a federal classification that currently places marijuana in the same category as heroin and LSD.

Response from DOJ

The Justice Department today released the following statement from spokesman Anthony Coley regarding the President’s proclamation granting a full, complete, and unconditional pardon to U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents who have committed, or been convicted of, the offense of simple possession of marijuana in violation of the Controlled Substances Act, as currently codified at 21 U.S.C. 844 and as previously codified elsewhere in the U.S. Code, or in violation of D.C. Code 48–904.01(d)(1):

“The Justice Department will expeditiously administer the President’s proclamation, which pardons individuals who simply possess marijuana, restoring political, civil, and other rights to those convicted of that offense. In the coming days, the Office of the Pardon Attorney will begin implementing a process to provide impacted individuals with certificates of pardon.

“Also, in accordance with the President’s directive, Justice Department officials will work with our colleagues at the Department of Health and Human Services as they launch a scientific review of how marijuana is scheduled under federal law.”


“No one should be in jail just for using or possessing marijuana,” Biden said in a video announcing his executive actions. “It’s legal in many states, and criminal records for marijuana possession have led to needless barriers to employment, housing, and educational opportunities. And that’s before you address the racial disparities around who suffers the consequences. While white and Black and brown people use marijuana at similar rates, Black and brown people are arrested, prosecuted, and convicted at disproportionate rates.”

“Too many lives have been upended because of our failed approach to marijuana. It’s time that we right these wrongs,” the President said.

The moves Biden announced Thursday stop short of full decriminalization, which has enjoyed growing support among both political parties. But they are the first significant steps taken by a US president toward removing criminal penalties for possessing marijuana.

The President and a small circle of White House aides had been wrangling for weeks over the changes, complicated both by Biden’s own personal skepticism about decriminalization and not wanting to dictate changes to the Justice Department.

Biden’s own view on marijuana is a product of both his age and the years he spent as the chairman of the Judiciary Committee in the Senate working on crime bills. During the 2020 campaign, aides argued that he was waiting for new studies to come out that would inform a shift in his position – but even without any such studies, Biden was eventually moved by arguments about the lack of fairness and justice, particularly along racial lines.

White House aides were also watching the calendar with the midterms in mind, hoping that the changes long sought by criminal justice advocates will help build enthusiasm among Black voters, younger voters and a wider array of core Democratic voters.

Senior administration officials declined to say how quickly the review might be completed that would lead to further steps toward decriminalization. “The process will take some time because it must be based on a careful consideration of all of the available evidence, including scientific and medical information that’s available,” one senior official said.

In his statement, Biden wrote that certain rules on marijuana would remain in place, even if the drug is descheduled. “Even as federal and local regulations of marijuana change, important limitations on trafficking, marketing, and under-age sales should stay in place,” he said.

Marijuana is illegal under federal law, even as individual states have moved toward legal use for recreational and medical purposes. Under the 1970 Controlled Substances Act, marijuana is listed on Schedule 1, meaning it has “no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.” That has left some users open to prosecution, even in places where marijuana use is legal.

Biden’s pardons will be issued through an administration process overseen by the Justice Department, a senior administration official said. Those eligible for the pardons would receive a certificate showing they had been officially forgiven for their crime.

Officials said there are currently no Americans serving prison time solely on federal simple marijuana possession charges. But they said the number who had been charged with that crime was north of 6,500.

As a candidate, Biden stopped short of endorsing legalization of marijuana for recreational purposes. But he did adopt a stance toward decriminalization. “No one should be in jail because of marijuana. As President, I will decriminalize cannabis use and automatically expunge prior convictions,” he said during the presidential campaign.

Loosening federal rules on marijuana has gained steam in recent years as the drug is legalized in a growing number of states. In late 2020, the House passed a measure that would decriminalize marijuana at the federal level, though it wasn’t taken up in the Republican-controlled Senate.

Source CNN, Last Prisoner Project, DOJ

78 comments:

  1. Cool. We can have 3 ounces on us and smoke anywhere cigarettes are allowed here in New York. Also, marijuana definitely should not be a Schedule 1 narcotic.

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    1. All and all legalization was handled way better in Canada the markets flooded got a oz of killer for 130 at the store 100 on the black market

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    2. I don’t think you can just smoke everywhere as if it was cigarettes. The law of under the influence will still apply.

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    3. "Law of under the influence" WTF are you talking about? You definitely don't live here in NY.

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    4. 11:19 yo, who the fuck are you and WHERE U FROM homie?

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    5. 10:35 you under the influence?
      Pinchis mariguanos de mierda, addicted to denial and to shit.

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    6. 11:19 in nyc you can smoke weed anywhere you are allowed to smoke a cigarette with the only possible exception being behind the wheel of a motor vehicle.

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  2. Shoutout to all 12 people this will affect..

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    1. Yeah, I'd be good if it also included possession with intent lol

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  3. Federal conviction for simple possession of marijuana is not even a thing 🤦This will help almost no one.

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    1. It's a first step

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    2. 6:04 A half step is just as bad as no steps. This will affect such few people it’s ridiculous.

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    3. It actually is a thing, in some states you can get over a year for having just one or two seeds.

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  4. I have 2 friends who in 1996 both were convicted under the kingpin law. They lost everything including not going to family funerals. One went crazy and became insane after his son passed away and he couldn't be there for him. All for a natural flower.

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    1. Your friend should've stayed the fuck away from drugs and got a job like everyone else. Only weak bitches go insane.

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    2. That's my message. Stay away from drugs. It might be great for awhile but you'll get caught

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    3. 6:54 a pero cuando andava afuera vendiendola se creia bien verga, es lo que le pasa por andar ahi de caliente

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    4. The problem is that everythings a drug. Sugar is a drug. Caffeine is a drug. Im sure you Sol consume caffeine and sugar, therefore you use drugs.

      So then some human comes in and says this drug is bad, that drug is good, but who are any of us to make these artificial boundaries?

      And lives are ruined because of these artificial boundaries, in a variety of different ways.

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    5. 6:54 Stay away from drugs and you can attend all the parties you want including SIRs Tonga party.

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    6. 6:54 you need to except risks before you get into something and except it as a possible reality. Sucks being its marijuana but its the USA not Canada.

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    7. 8:24 TANGA, GÛEY...
      tongas are on the other
      sidewalk next block.

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    8. 7:39 you make me proud...

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  5. Good to see something is being done. In a few years hopefully we’ll be like Canada 🇨🇦 Nationwide legalization. Main reason it hasn’t is because of all the pharmaceutical companies will take a high hit. No telling how much money those companies spend to keep pot illegal and schedule 1. Until they reclassify it no real change is gonna come nationwide.

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  6. I don't know Sol, Pot is legal in my State and I smoke occasionally. Yes I am crazy as heck, but I'm a Strong bitch. Am I the exception? Lol

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    1. Does pot make you feel like you're floating on air?
      Is it addictive?

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    2. I've got good friends who do use drugs. So far they've been normal functioning users. It's just whenever I hear that heinous shit is happening that it bothers me. Nonetheless one such friend that has been smoking for years here recently decided to beat up his dad under the influence of pot. I'm guessing something was added that made him go berserk. This is why I just don't see the point to drugs. If everyone was just a chill individual it wouldn't be so bad. But it just seems that with time it's affecting users in some way or another.

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    3. 9:23 pot is addictive for sure I don't know where you been. I can barely make it a week in Mexico before I break down a score a bag.

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    4. 9:31 people begin not giving a fuck when they decide to keep doing drugs, grifa is one of them, then someday many go for broke and fuck up real good,

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    5. ... many go for broke and fuck up real good one last time and never know why.

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    6. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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    7. 9:23 Weed is hella addictive and absolutely one of the hardest to quit. It’s not particularly easy to get addicted to initially but once you are you become SO fucking addicted.

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    8. 9:31 Na either that person is naturally violent or they were withdrawing from weed.

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    9. @Sol much respect dude but I disagree completely with you on “pot”. Science has proven that mammals were specially designed or evolved to use cannabis. Mammals have CB1 and CB2 receptors whose only job is to process the active compounds in “pot”.

      “pot” kills cancer cells, helps inflammation more than ANY prescription drug invented, stops seizures, and has a plethora of health benefits and medical qualities.

      That’s it, thanks again @Sol

      PS how old are you?

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    10. 10:39 I am 75 years old.
      Sol Prendido

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    11. @10:39
      All these made up bullshit about why weed is good for you because you know that you’re a drug addict that can’t put the weed down. Face it you’re a weakling who can’t function without drugs!

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  7. General Sol you have no idea the reasons people can turn to drugs. What job allows you to spend all of your time translating the internet?
    Are you a trust fund kid?

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    1. Sol is the biggest caffeine tweaker in the world. Sol’s caffeine use is just as bad as SIR’s meth use lol. Stim heads are the worst of the worst.

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    2. 9:29: if Sol and the other reporters here did not take the time and effort to "Translate the internet", for us, there wouldn't be a BB website. That IS a full time job, serving the likes of You and Me.

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    3. Sol does this shit on the side because he has work ethic and discipline maybe drinks beer and liquor every now and then to chill and relax but don’t be making assumptions that he’s a drug addict like you and your pathetic weak ass friends and relatives.

      No one in this world has a perfect life but that doesn’t mean you need to get high to cope or get by. Fuck weed too that shit makes people lazy very few and I really mean few can function and psychosis eventually catches up.

      Semper Fi

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    4. 9:29 it's time to pick on Sol?
      You forgot aside from his job, he puts in vollenteer time, to put articles into English for those, that no longer speak Spanish, answer's phones, moderates the comment section, in order to avoid dumb comments like yours coming in.
      Lucky you made it in.

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    5. Time is something we all have. You just got to know how to use it productively and wisely. And no I'm not rich. I grew up dirt poor. But I am content with where I am financially. Obviously if I could make more that'd be even better. For the time being I'm good to go.

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    6. @10:17 me and sol bang h and fent together. If it makes us too groggy we slam some meth with it and shoot up jack Daniels.

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    7. 10:21 Yeah but that was the only comment that made it in and I’m not discounting his work but he’s clearly a caffeine head which in my experience are just as bad as amphetamine tweakers. And that’s aside from his lack of logic on “drugs” which I doubt he even knows what that word means lol

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    8. 10:47 you should listen to what 10:21 just said. You're obviously dumb af if you can't take a hint from someone else pointing out your clear ignorance lol

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    9. I'm really sick of the comments calling people who drink coffee "caffeine tweakers". They all come from one commenter. This is a website that regularly covers the dead bodies left on the streets of Mexico, trying to make sense of the drug trafficking groups. Your crusade against caffeine is not relevant to this topic. It is, in fact, disrespectful to entertain your bullshit in here right next to the stories about real innocent people are suffering everyday due to cartel violence.

      We're not going to let any comments about caffeine "tweakers" in here anymore. There are thousands of Internet forums which would welcome your ideas, please go find one of them.

      And I say this with genuine concern for you and your safety, maybe speak to a mental health professional.

      People who demonize a common activity that most people engage in and hyperfixate on it usually need help.

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    10. We are the absolute mob of the Juan Valdez coffee

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    11. When chivis was in charge i use to think sol was anoying AF who thaught he was a bad ass cause he had some kind of pull, now that he and hearts are more involved i still think he is anoying AF 🤣🤣🤣 JK, no he is has stayed neutral and thats cool, what ive noticed is that most of the guys hating on SOL are CDS groupies, why? I dont know, i guess their motto is "if you are not wearing panties like us you are against us"

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    12. Could 9:29
      Be this be the ALMO nutthugger Lawyer , that has a grudge against Sol, for not letting him post his rabid comments and wants to annoy Sol.

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    13. OMG I just spilt my coffee absolute mob of Juan Valdez!!!!!! I am a legit caffeine tweaker 4 espresso shots before sun rise yes my first shot is 500 am nothing wrong with that Hearst

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    14. 1:03 Ok, we already know you hate AMLO.

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  8. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Coffee, specially Juan Valdez',
      Can't do it without a straw.

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  9. Stoners should have a month named after this parade. National marijuana month and day!

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    Replies
    1. Alright, October can be for weed, ale and nightshades.

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  10. Se me antoja una caguama bien helada y un cigarrito de la verde ,y bajar avión con un chicharrón de parguito.

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    1. hahahaha! Barack Caguama for president!

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    2. @12:44 fuck that Sinaloa snitch!

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  11. That’s cool 😎

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  12. Obama and Clinton were both Marijuanna smokers !
    One approved "Fast and Furious" and the other spent 4 years recieving bjs at the WH.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You still stuck will the lame gun fiasco, along time ago.

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    2. 12:16 Bill Clinton did not inhale.
      Obama said "that was the idea" about inhaling, but Obama said it real like serious, Harvard like professional.

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  13. Fun fact of the day : nobody has a federal marijuana possession conviction. I have a state of Texas weed conviction from a decade ago and this doesn’t do shit for me. Thanks Biden

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  14. Trump was actually friendly to, (maybe not decriminalizing marijuana), but lowering the penalties for marijuana offenses.

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    1. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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    2. 5:10 tromp almost released Larry Hoover to please Kanye West, who prolly wants to meet him in person some day, at night without noise from the slammers or visits from the bulls...that pardon could have put The Trumpanzee party back in the Whites' House...

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  15. All this shit will go away, it’s just a way to get votes… they don’t really care about this bs pardon anyways. The lawsuits will be bigger from those who did time and now these others are getting away free of charge. MJ will always be a gateway drug, regardless of what they think

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    1. What do you mean gateway drug? Alcohol is the ultimate gateway drug first off because it’s what the vast majority of people start with and is one of the few drugs that actually makes you want to do even more drugs. Secondly, most people who try marijuana do not go on to try other things (as if trying other drugs is even a problem in the first place). Third, the drug that is statistically most associated with hard drug use later in life is early exposer to nicotine.. I don’t know a single person who started with marijuana so where is his “gateway” idea even come from? There’s a reason even the DEA took it off their website.

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    2. @ 12:13…Alcohol, nicotine, and MJ considered gateway. But most potheads won’t understand the reason why. It’s pointless to even try. Go smoke the last brain cell it took you to write your last reply

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  16. Biden will you pardon Brittney Griner too? Aw I forgot she/he is in a Russian jail where you pay the price for commiting a crime .
    Thank you Putin

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    1. 7:14
      No that is not possible.
      She is in Russia not USA, how the hell can he do that fool.

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    2. José Biden is too busy, but he could Presidential Pardon the Donal' the Trumpanzee and make him a convicted criminal if all the republican politicians vote for all the Democrats' programs for the next 10 years.
      Gruber's freedom is in the works, Biden has offered to exchange one russian weapons trafficker for her ass and some other nobody, putin must be wanting all of Ukrainia in the deal, pinche mariguano pendejo

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    3. 714, no comprehende satire.

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  17. First thing he’s done so far as President in two years.

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  18. Now for those that thought Mexico is a failed state, would you now understand that the Failed state always has been U.S ??

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  19. When I saw “President Biden” in the title I unconsciously decided that the post must be about a movie in which Joe Biden somehow became the president of the United States. I guess that was the only way to make sense of it.

    ReplyDelete

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