“While such a move potentially provides some benefits to patients, and veterans especially, it still falls well short of the changes necessary to bring federal marijuana policy into the 21st century.”
Tag: Joe Biden
Absent cannabis descheduling, those who produce, dispense, possess, or use marijuana in compliance with state laws could still face federal prosecution for violating federal drug laws.
Vice President Harris stopped the room to take a moment and say in the clearest words that “we need to legalize marijuana.”
This week, I received a Pardon Certificate for a marijuana offense from the President of the United States.
The Harnessing Opportunities by Pursuing Expungement (HOPE) Act, sponsored by Reps. David Joyce (R-OH) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), allocates $20 million in federal funds over the course of ten years to provide grants to state and local governments to help expedite the process of providing relief for those with low-level marijuana convictions.
After a several month delay, the Justice Department has opened the online application process for those persons eligible to receive certificates indicating that their marijuana-related convictions have been pardoned by the President.
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.
President Biden’s foray into the arena of marijuana reform legitimizes legalization as a subject worthy of consideration — and action — by those at the highest levels of government. Further, it is a recognition — by the president of the United States, no less — that America’s nearly 100-year experiment with cannabis criminalization has been an abject failure.