No one will regain his freedom as a result of US President Biden's decision, but he will wipe out the criminal records of thousands of Americans. Also, marijuana should no longer be classified as a drug on a par with heroin.
US President Joe Biden has announced that he will pardon all federal convicts of simple marijuana possession. Thousands have been denied jobs, homes or educational opportunities due to criminal records in this area, he wrote on Twitter. "My pardon will remove that burden."
According to the authorities, there were around 6,500 people from 1992 to 2021, senior White House officials said. No one is currently being held in federal prisons for this reason. Biden specifically emphasized that black Americans are more likely to be prosecuted for cannabis offenses - and convictions permanently affect their lives.
Biden also called on state governors to follow his example. No one should be in a federal prison for simply possessing marijuana, including at the local and state level. Most of the 50 states in the US legalize the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes, and around 20 have decriminalized it altogether.
The Justice and Health Departments instructed Biden by presidential decree to expedite review of the classification of cannabis. Biden emphasized that marijuana is currently equated with heroin and classified as more dangerous than the synthetic drug fentanyl. "That does not make sense."
Biden had already declared during his 2020 presidential campaign that no one should be sentenced to prison for possession or use of cannabis. According to polls, the majority of Americans think so too, and not only among Biden's Democrats, but also among many Republicans. In the spring, the House of Representatives passed another bill, mainly with the votes of the Democrats, which provides for decriminalizing marijuana at the federal level. However, with the strong role played by the conservative wing of the Republican Party, there has been no decision in the second chamber, the Senate.
Biden's decree comes about a month before the congressional elections, in which the entire House of Representatives and some of the senators have to vote. A few months ago, according to polls, it looked like the Democrats would lose a narrow majority in the House of Representatives and control of the Senate. In the meantime, they are given better chances of holding the Senate - and some do not rule out that the House of Representatives could also remain democratic. Losing even one of the chambers of Parliament would limit Biden's assertiveness.
