Who Will Benefit From Biden’s Marijuana Pardons?
Some 6,577 U.S. citizens once convicted of federal cannabis possession offenses will receive a presidential pardon under an executive action announced by President Joe Biden.
A detailed report was released last week by the federal U.S. Sentencing Commission (USCC). It shows the demographic and geographic breakdown of eligible pardon recipients.
According to USCC, “no offenders remain in [Federal Bureau of Prisons] custody.” White people make up 41.3% of the offenders, Hispanics make up 31.8%, and 23.6% are Black. A full 17% of the offenses were committed in one state — Arizona.
Non-citizens are ineligible for pardons under Biden’s proclamation. That exclusion has been criticized by advocates of immigration and cannabis policy reform.
The program won’t affect state-level convictions. However, Biden has called on governors to pursue similar action and pardon state marijuana convictions. He is also launching an administrative review of federal marijuana scheduling.
Read more at Marijuana Moment.
