United States President Joe Biden on Thursday said that no person should be jailed for using and possessing marijuana. He made the remarks while pardoning thousands of Americans convicted of marijuana possession under federal laws.
“There are thousands of people who were previously convicted of simple possession who may be denied employment, housing, or educational opportunities as a result,” he said while announcing the decision. “My pardon will remove this burden.”
Biden also urged governors to announce similar pardons for those convicted of possession of marijuana under state laws.
Officials cited by AFP said that about 6,500 Americans convicted under the federal laws will be benefited from the pardon, besides thousands more who have been accused in the capital city of Washington.
However, the pardon will not apply to those convicted for possession of other drugs, or for charges of producing or possessing marijuana with an intent to distribute. The US president did not call for fully decriminalising cannabis either, saying that “limitations on trafficking, marketing and under-age sales should stay in place”.
The president also directed the US departments of justice and health to review the classification of marijuana at par with drugs like heroin and fentanyl.
Ahead of midterm elections in the US on November 8, the move is being seen as a reach out to racial justice activists who have long advocated that marijuana laws are often used to target non-white Americans.
“Sending people to jail for possessing marijuana has upended too many lives – for conduct that is legal in many states,” Biden said in his statement on Thursday. “That’s before you address the clear racial disparities around prosecution and conviction. Today, we begin to right these wrongs.”
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