US President Joe Biden has issued an executive order pardoning all Americans federally convicted of marijuana possession.
Only a relatively small number of convicts in marijuana cases will be affected by this decision because most of them happen at the state level rather than the federal level.
Biden’s announcement falls short of decriminalizing marijuana possession, which he promised as a presidential candidate.
Recent polls show that a majority of Americans believe cannabis use should be legal.
“Imprisonment of a person for possession of marijuana is life-changing and imprisoned for conduct that is no longer prohibited by many states,” Biden said in a statement Thursday.
“Criminal records for marijuana possession also posed undue barriers to employment, housing and education,” he added, adding that ethnic minorities were more likely to be imprisoned for cannabis use.
Biden said he would call on all state governors to issue pardons in marijuana possession cases.
He has also instructed the Department of Justice and the Department of Health and Human Services to review how cannabis is classified under federal law.
“We classify marijuana on the same level as heroin – and more dangerous than fentanyl,” Biden said, adding that it “doesn’t make sense.”
Commercial use of marijuana is already legal in 19 states and Washington, DC. As for medical use, it is legal in 37 states and three US territories.
Despite this, marijuana remains illegal at the federal level, even in states where it can be legally purchased and used.
“More than 99% of federal drug offenders are convicted in trafficking cases,” the US Department of Justice’s Bureau of Statistics said.
Speaking to reporters, a White House official said that “there are no prisoners currently in federal prison for the mere possession of marijuana.”
But Biden said the pardon would remove “undue barriers to employment, housing, and educational opportunities” following clearing convicts’ records.
US officials estimate that “6,500 people have previous federal convictions of marijuana possession” that Biden will pardon.
Officials say the pardon will also extend to thousands of Washington, D.C. residents who have been convicted of marijuana possession.
