What You Need to Know About President Biden Waving Criminal Offenses on Marijuana

President Biden changing the law on marijuanaScreenshot from Twitter

President Joe Biden checks off one of his campaign pledges and waves criminal offenses for those convicted of marijuana use and possession. This also makes it a sign to lessen charges for possession of this drug.

So, thousands of people saw their sentences lifted.

The announcement also comes a month away from the November elections where several Democrats are running.

In a video, President Biden said:

“No one should be in jail just for using or possessing marijuana. 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 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.

“Even as federal and local regulations of marijuana change, important limitations on trafficking, marketing, and under-age sales should stay in place.”

New York Mayor Adams said:

“For too long, underserved communities — particularly communities of color — have faced disproportionate rates of drug-related incarceration, and I applaud President Biden for taking these tremendous strides toward finally delivering equity to those disproportionately harmed by the ‘War on Drugs.’ No one should be in prison solely due to a marijuana possession conviction, and a review of the outdated federal classification of marijuana is long overdue. The actions taken by the president today get the ball rolling on righting these decades-long wrongs.”

Biden’s pardon will not apply to people who were convicted of distributing or selling marijuana.

The President said on Twitter Thursday:

“Sending people to jail for possessing marijuana has upended too many lives — for conduct that is legal in many states. That’s before you address the clear racial disparities around prosecution and conviction. Today, we begin to right these wrongs.”

In a video Biden said:

“While white and Black and brown people use marijuana at similar rates, Black and brown people are arrested, prosecuted and convicted at disproportionately higher rates.”

“The federal government currently classifies marijuana as a Schedule 1 substance the same as heroin and LSD and more serious than fentanyl. It makes no sense.”

What do you think about President Biden changing this law?