But as the Department of Justice was careful to note in its press release, though the pardons will restore civil liberties, such as the “right to vote, to hold office, to sit on a jury,” they will not “expunge the conviction” from people’s criminal records. Sure, Biden’s mass pardons will undeniably offer some degree of relief to people who, because of federal pot possession convictions, have endured decades of discrimination costing them jobs, housing aid, education funds, and a slew of other opportunities. It’s no wonder the Internet applauded the president’s order by flooding social media with “ Dank Brandon” memes.īut there are more than a few reasons to hold off on taking a celebratory hit off your vape for now. Considering the fact that its status deems it a substance with “ no currently accepted medical use,” despite pot’s being legalized in at least 37 states for precisely that purpose, the move seemed long overdue. Just as importantly, after more than 50 years of the federal government rating pot as in league with heroin and fentanyl, the president announced that Attorney General Merrick Garland and Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra have been tasked with “expeditiously” reassessing pot’s categorization as a Schedule I drug. Thousands more convicted of simple pot possession under Washington, D.C., drug laws will also have their convictions scrapped.
At least 6,500 people charged with federal pot possession dating to 1992 will have their convictions overturned, as will an as-yet-unknown number of folks convicted as far back as the 1970s. The president’s issuing blanket pardons for all federal convictions of simple marijuana possession is, to put it in Biden-esque tems, a big fucking deal.
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