The White House said Thursday that President Biden will pardon all prior federal crimes of simple marijuana possession in an effort to decriminalize the drug, Fox News informed.
Senior officials claim that the action covers people who have been found guilty of simple marijuana possession, including those in the District of Columbia.
White people and people of color consume marijuana at comparable percentages, according to the White House, but “black and brown people have been arrested, prosecuted, and convicted at disproportionate rates.”
Biden tweeted on Thursday that no one should be imprisoned for merely using or possessing marijuana.
He said that jailing people for marijuana possession, which is legal in many jurisdictions, had upended far too many lives.
That is before addressing the blatant racial discrepancies in prosecution and conviction.
According to Biden, the pardons will assist those with straightforward marijuana possession convictions in overcoming barriers to employment or housing rental.
According to Biden, thousands of people may be excluded from housing, employment, or educational possibilities because they have had prior Federal convictions for marijuana possession. His effort will lessen the side effects that result from these convictions.
Along with the pardons, Biden asked governors to follow suit with regard to state marijuana charges and gave Xavier Becerra, the secretary of health and human services, and Merrick Garland, the attorney general, instructions to start evaluating marijuana’s classification under federal drug laws.
According to the federal government, marijuana is now classified as a “schedule one” drug, making it more dangerous than fentanyl and on par with heroin and LSD, which makes no sense at all.
The action is similar to that taken by major cities like New York to decriminalize low-level marijuana arrests.
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