{"id":51594,"date":"2021-12-07T14:38:49","date_gmt":"2021-12-07T22:38:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2021\/12\/07\/congressional-lawmakers-want-urgent-update-from-biden-on-marijuana-pardons-as-holidays-approach\/"},"modified":"2021-12-08T01:45:19","modified_gmt":"2021-12-08T09:45:19","slug":"congressional-lawmakers-want-urgent-update-from-biden-on-marijuana-pardons-as-holidays-approach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2021\/12\/07\/congressional-lawmakers-want-urgent-update-from-biden-on-marijuana-pardons-as-holidays-approach\/","title":{"rendered":"Congressional Lawmakers Want \u2018Urgent\u2019 Update From Biden On Marijuana Pardons As Holidays Approach"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been almost ten months since a coalition of 37 congressional lawmakers sent a letter to President Joe Biden, urging him to use executive authority to issue mass pardons<\/a> for people with federal marijuana convictions on their records. Lawmakers are growing impatient, and now they\u2019ve sent a follow-up letter to \u201curgently request\u201d an update as the holiday season approaches.<\/p>\n

Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Barbara Lee (D-CA) and Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) wrote to the president last week that many Americans \u201cremain behind bars due to racially discriminatory cannabis policies and continue to accrue criminal fees.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTo begin rectifying the damage done by these discriminatorily implemented policies and reunite families before the holidays, we reiterate our ask that you use your executive authority to pardon all individuals convicted of nonviolent cannabis offenses, whether formerly or currently incarcerated,\u201d they said. \u201cWe further write to specify that all federal criminal fines and fees be cancelled for all nonviolent cannabis offenses.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Our justice system has failed people with nonviolent cannabis convictions and has wrongfully made them out to be criminals.\u00a0@RepBarbaraLee<\/a>, @repblumenauer<\/a> and I wrote a letter to @POTUS<\/a> requesting that he pardon these convictions and cancel any related fees or fines. pic.twitter.com\/cVW9t3Qffh<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Congressman Jamaal Bowman (@RepBowman) December 7, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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This has become a familiar request over the course of Biden\u2019s first year in office. Advocates, lawmakers, celebrities and others have repeatedly pressed the president to made good on his campaign pledge and provide relief to those with cannabis convictions.<\/p>\n

Yet so far, the only pardons to take place under the Biden administration have benefited turkeys at a ceremonial Thanksgiving event<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany Americans do not believe we should take a punitive approach to marijuana and have already benefited significantly from efforts to loosen or eliminate cannabis regulations at the local or state level,\u201d the congressional trio wrote, noting that polls show strong public support for marijuana reform.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs the American public continues to voice its pro-legalization position, it\u2019s important that the Black and brown communities most directly harmed by past and current cannabis laws are able to directly benefit from legalization efforts, which includes small business opportunities,\u201d the letter continues. \u201cIn addition to economic development opportunities, timely legalization could help save lives and stem the continuing opioid crisis in our nation.\u201d<\/p>\n

They further said that fees and fines imposed by the criminal justice system \u201chave also historically had a racially discriminatory impact on local communities,\u201d and so the \u201cfederal government has a moral responsibility to stand against this system of structural racism and incentivize municipalities to follow suit.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCongress must act to reimagine our nation\u2019s cannabis policies, but we firmly believe that you have the power to take decisive action to begin this necessary work,\u201d they wrote, adding that the House Judiciary Committee approved a comprehensive legalization bill<\/a> in the months since they sent their first letter on mass cannabis pardons.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile this bill would make considerable progress towards overhauling American cannabis policies, you maintain the unilateral power to take transformative important action by issuing a blanket pardon of all non-violent federal cannabis offenses. Just as previous presidents have used executive authority to issue blanket pardons consistent with our values that benefit the American people, this is an opportunity for you to uphold commitments made during the campaign and revitalize communities across the country.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTherefore, we again urge you to utilize your power to pardon all individuals convicted of nonviolent cannabis offenses and cancel all related federal fines and fees, so that we can reunite families and communities in time for the winter holidays,\u201d the letter concludes.<\/p>\n

This letter comes about a month after group of senators separately sent a letter urging Biden to use his executive authority<\/a>\u00a0to grant a mass pardon for people with non-violent marijuana convictions.<\/p>\n

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), who led that letter, said during a recent interview that Biden could boost the economy and promote racial equity with the \u201cstroke of a pen\u201d by granting the relief<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A recently published Congressional Research Service (CRS) report affirmed that the president has it within his power to\u00a0grant mass pardons for cannabis offenses<\/a>. It also said that the administration can move to federally legalize cannabis without waiting for lawmakers to act.<\/p>\n

Relatedly, a\u00a0group of more than 150 celebrities, athletes, politicians, law enforcement professionals and academics\u00a0signed a letter that was delivered to Biden<\/a>\u00a0in September, urging him to issue a \u201cfull, complete and unconditional pardon\u201d to all people with non-violent federal marijuana convictions.<\/p>\n

That letter came just as the administration started encouraging about\u00a01,000 people who were temporarily placed on home confinement for federal drug offenses<\/a>\u00a0to fill out clemency application forms.<\/p>\n

Warren and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) separately\u00a0sent a letter to the attorney general in October<\/a>, making the case that the Justice Department should initiate a marijuana descheduling process in order to \u201callow states to regulate cannabis as they see fit, begin to remedy the harm caused by decades of racial disparities in enforcement of cannabis laws, and facilitate valuable medical research.\u201d<\/p>\n

The White House said in August that the president was\u00a0looking into using his executive authority<\/a>\u00a0to grant clemency to people with certain non-violent drug convictions.<\/p>\n

Biden has faced criticism from drug policy reform advocates who\u2019ve grown frustrated that he\u2019s yet to make good on campaign promises such as decriminalizing marijuana possession. The president also campaigned on expunging prior cannabis records and respecting the rights of states to set their own laws.<\/p>\n

Since taking office, however, his administration has made little progress on any of those pledges and has instead\u00a0fired its own White House staffers over marijuana<\/a>\u00a0and sought to extend a budget provision that has\u00a0blocked Washington, D.C. from legalizing cannabis sales<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In April, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki was pressed on Biden\u2019s clemency promise for people with federal marijuana and said that process will start with modestly rescheduling cannabis<\/a>\u2014a proposal that advocates say wouldn\u2019t actually accomplish what she\u2019s suggesting.<\/p>\n

Moving cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule II under the Controlled Substances Act, as Biden is proposing, wouldn\u2019t facilitate mass clemency given that being convicted for crimes related to drugs in that slightly lower category\u2014which currently includes cocaine\u2014also carries significant penalties.<\/p>\n

Read the new letter<\/a> to Biden on marijuana pardons below:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Click to access 120221_final-marijuana-commutation-fee-waiver-letter.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n

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Congressman Slams Senate After Marijuana Banking Excluded From Defense Bill<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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The post Congressional Lawmakers Want \u2018Urgent\u2019 Update From Biden On Marijuana Pardons As Holidays Approach<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n


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\nRead More: Congressional Lawmakers Want \u2018Urgent\u2019 Update From Biden On Marijuana Pardons As Holidays Approach<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s been almost ten months since a coalition of 37 congressional lawmakers sent a letter to President Joe Biden, urging him to use executive authority to issue mass pardons for people with federal marijuana convictions on their records. Lawmakers are growing impatient, and now they\u2019ve sent a follow-up letter toContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51594"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51594"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51594\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51595,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51594\/revisions\/51595"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51594"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51594"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51594"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}