Posted on 12/22/2023 7:45:14 AM PST by Red Badger
President Joe Biden took major action ahead of the holiday and pardoned all Americans arrested, prosecuted, or convicted on federal charges for marijuana use, following through on his 2020 campaign promise to expunge cannabis use offenses.
Biden signed a proclamation Friday that forgives U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents caught by law enforcement for possessing the drug and charged, going far beyond the sweeping actions he took last year for thousands of people convicted of possession.
The new action includes "additional offenses of simple possession and use of marijuana under federal and D.C. law," the White House said in a statement issued Friday morning.
The Biden administration did not provide an estimate for how many people would be affected, but it noted that those convicted of selling or transporting marijuana were not included in the pardon.
The White House's hope in taking such broad action was to make it easier for people with criminal records to be able to obtain work and housing as a result of clearing their records of the felony offense.
"Criminal records for marijuana use and possession have imposed needless barriers to employment, housing, and educational opportunities," Biden said. "Too many lives have been upended because of our failed approach to marijuana. It’s time that we right these wrongs."
People convicted of violating state marijuana laws are not eligible for this latest pardon, but Biden urged governors to take similar actions to absolve state charges.
Biden will take additional action Friday and commute the prison sentences of 11 people convicted of nonviolent drug offenses, including some mandatory life sentences, according to the White House. These commutations are the latest since he took similar action in April.
"Today, President Joseph R. Biden Jr. is using his authority under the Constitution to uphold the values of redemption and rehabilitation by commuting the sentences of 11 fellow Americans who are serving unduly long sentences for non-violent drug offenses," the White House said in its announcement.
The Biden administration moved earlier this year to reclassify marijuana to a lower category on the Drug Enforcement Administration's scale. The Department of Health and Human Services proposed that the DEA move marijuana from a Schedule I drug to a Schedule III drug.
As a Schedule I drug, marijuana is defined as a drug with no medical use and a high potential for abuse or addiction. Schedule II drugs may have some medically acceptable uses but still come with a high risk of abuse or addiction. Schedule III drugs contain smaller amounts of narcotic and non-narcotic drugs.
“Ask any meth addict...and fentanyl addict...and he/she will tell you that they started with grass.“
_________
Ask any meth addict...and fentanyl addict...and he/she will tell you that they started with alcohol.
No, this is bad move for everyone. First, it further legitamizes drug use. Bad. Second, it rewards drug users, bad. Third, pardoned drug users may now go vote for Biden in thanks, bad.
Way to go, Joe. Should bring in a few more votes.
This nation is coming apart so fast it is dizzying. And, I’ve quit reading the news in depth. Going to have to stop completely.
Must get more votes ... Must get more votes ... Must get more votes ... Must get more votes ...
Annie Green Springs Strawberry Hill in Texas. Mescal De Oro tequila from Mexico, complete with a worm, and a little bit of worn poop, drinking while making donuts all night Fridays and Saturdays. Guess the worms didn’t appreciate their fate. Mexicans fought over who got the worm.
We went to Big Bend on a geology field trip and got a case of Mescal from across the border, sat around a huge campfire and passed the bottles, salt, and limes (19 of us). 9 days without a bath.
The good old days, 60’s and 70’s
Marxists already had it.
“I still believe it’s a gateway drug. I’ve spent a lot of my life as chairman of the Judiciary Committee dealing with this. I think it would be a mistake to legalize,”, [said] Biden in 2010.
- Three Strikes
Mandatory life imprisonment without possibility of parole for Federal offenders with three or more convictions for serious violent felonies or drug trafficking crimes.- Victims of Crime
Allows victims of Federal violent and sex crimes to speak at the sentencing of their assailants. Strengthens requirements for sex offenders and child molesters to pay restitution to their victims. Improves the Federal Crime Victims' Fund and the victim-related programs it supports.- Byrne Grants
Formula grant program for states for use in more than 20 law enforcement purposes, including state and local drug task force efforts.
And I thought they started with alcohol and vaping, thanks for the info!
I don’t care if I catch heat for it. Biden did something I agree with.
That’s what I thought.
Wouldn’t this also be illegal due to separation of powers? Can laws passed by congress and signed into law by presidents be instantly erased by another president? If that’s the case, why even bother having a congress?
Didn’t Trump do the same thing?...........
WTF?! There’s no rule of law in this country anymore - only despotic terrorism by a dictator.
If he did, that’s great. I wish it’d gotten more press
With all of the related collateral deaths and dismemberments, and physical and sexual abuse, associated with alcohol use, alcohol should be designated a Schedule I Drug.
TRUTH
We tried that once. Didn’t work out too well..............
I started with Boones Farm and intend to end with Boones Farm. It is the cycle of life.
I’m no libertarian pothead, but most cases of narcotics possession and trafficking shouldn’t even be Federal offenses in the first place.
I wonder how many people who pleaded down to possession but were actually traffickers will get pardoned
My point exactly. “It’s just weed!”
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.