As required by separate legislation signed by the Governor earlier this year, all pardoned cannabis possession offenses will be removed from public view by January 31, 2026.
Category: Politics
“It is becoming clear that those who oppose marijuana policy reform would rather take voters out of the equation altogether.”
“These audio recordings reinforce the fact that the federal government’s decision to strictly criminalize marijuana was primarily a political one,” NORML’s Deputy Director Paul Armentano said.
Many of those eligible for forgiveness have suffered numerous lost opportunities over the years because of a lingering conviction for behavior that most Americans no longer believe should be a crime. They should not have to continue to wait for relief any longer.
Last week, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki reiterated the President’s position that cannabis should be rescheduled under federal law to Schedule II rather than descheduled from the Controlled Substances Act… Tonight, President Biden will be delivering his first major address to Congress and to the American people to discuss his vision and priorities for the rest of his first presidential term.
“I’m exceedingly grateful to have the support of NORML PAC,” Lt. Governor John Fetterman said. “The bottom line here is it’s far past time we let go of this bizarre superstition and criminalization of a plant, cannabis, and instead legalize it on a federal level.”
“It is mind-boggling that the federal government is revisiting this half-baked proposal now. The idea of proposing a testing procedure that will inherently deny more people of color opportunities than it would others who have engaged in exactly the same activities is beyond tone deaf and counterproductive.”
House lawmakers are preparing for a September floor vote on legislation – The Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement Act a/k/a The MORE Act — to remove marijuana from the federal Controlled Substances Act. The forthcoming vote would mark the first time since the passage of the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, which placed cannabis in the same category as heroin as a Schedule I controlled substance, that a Congressional chamber has voted to remove marijuana from its prohibitive classification.