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President Joe Biden\u2019s surprise marijuana pardon action last week has been widely praised as an important step toward righting the wrongs of prohibition<\/a>. But advocates have also been quick to point out that the move is seriously limited in scope and will leave many victims of the war on cannabis behind, without relief.<\/p>\n People prosecuted at the state level, military service members, non-citizens and those with records for selling cannabis are among those still facing the consequences of criminalization regardless of the president\u2019s proclamation, which only covers about 6,500 people who\u2019ve been convicted of federal possession offenses and several thousand more who\u2019ve violated the law in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a look at who is left behind by Biden\u2019s cannabis clemency move:<\/strong><\/p>\n As president, Biden isn\u2019t able to use executive action to force pardons for convictions at the state level\u2014where the vast majority of cannabis enforcement takes place\u2014but he has <\/span>called on governors to provide the relief<\/a>, with mixed reactions.<\/span><\/p>\n Some governors have said they\u2019d review their own authority, while others have touted actions they\u2019ve already taken. Still others have said outright that they wouldn\u2019t be taking the president up on his request.<\/span><\/p>\n In any case, while the president\u2019s move will help some people with federal records and adds to momentum for broader action in the states, it alone will not help most people who have suffered the consequences of cannabis criminalization.<\/p>\n Immigration rights activists are particularly frustrated that the proclamation went out of its way to explicitly declare that \u201cthis pardon does not apply to individuals who were non-citizens not lawfully present in the United States at the time of their offense.\u201d<\/p>\n Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), for example, called attention to the exclusion on the day that Biden announced the action.<\/p>\n Additionally, @POTUS<\/a> should treat all people equally and pardon ALL unjust simple If the US is admitting these laws were unjust, then we shouldn\u2019t discriminate pardons based on citizen status.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s get that liberty and justice for ALL \u2014 Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) October 7, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n \u201cIf the US is admitting these laws were unjust, then we shouldn\u2019t discriminate pardons based on citizen status,\u201d the congresswoman said. \u201cLet\u2019s get that liberty and justice for ALL.\u201d<\/p>\n Kassandra Frederique, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, pointed out that \u201ccannabis is one of the main reasons why [non-citizens] are detained or deported,\u201d adding that \u201cmost people don\u2019t realize that our first drug laws were xenophobic immigration policies.\u201d<\/p>\n While Biden’s latest executive order on marijuana is extremely welcome and long overdue, there remains much more to do to provide the relief and justice our communities deserve. Let’s take a look at what he did vs. what he should be doing. pic.twitter.com\/Tq49O8M1nc<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Drug Policy Alliance (@DrugPolicyOrg) October 7, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n \u201cThis is why Drug Policy Alliance is working with our groups around the country to really figure out how do we continue to push where the president is right now to a broader conversation that\u2019s actually going to bring the necessary material condition changes that our community needs,\u201d she told<\/a> Common Dreams.<\/p>\n The Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) and Immigrant Defense Project (IDP) have also criticized<\/a> the exclusion of non-citizens and called on Biden to expand on the executive action.<\/p>\n \u201cMarijuana must be fully descheduled, and communities most harmed by prohibition including immigrant communities of color need to see real and lasting returns from legalization,\u201d IDP Senior Policy Attorney Jane Shim said<\/a>. \u201cWe must also change immigration law to ensure that marijuana-related activity does not result in detention and deportation.\u201d<\/p>\n Because the pardon proclamation only affects people who\u2019ve committed marijuana possession under U.S. criminal code, that\u2019s also means that military service members who\u2019ve been prosecuted for the same offense under the separate Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) aren\u2019t eligible for relief, a White House spokesperson told<\/a> Military.com.<\/p>\n \u201cIt looks like there are many steps that the lawmakers need to do before we can even begin to process whatever comes,\u201d a Pentagon spokesperson said, suggesting that congressional action would be needed for members of the armed services to get relief for any past cannabis offenses.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, advocates are continuing to push for a broader recognition of the failures and consequences of the drug war, with some arguing that the presidential pardon should have extended to people with non-violent federal cannabis sales convictions, as well as those who\u2019ve been charged with unrelated offenses following a marijuana prosecution.<\/p>\n They point out that pardoning people with mere possession convictions won\u2019t result in anyone being freed from behind bars. Meanwhile, there are thousands of people serving time in federal prisons for selling cannabis even as a growing number of states enact legalization.<\/p>\n \u201cThe appropriate next step for the administration to take is to acknowledge that, because of failed policy of prohibition, there were entrepreneurs who stepped up to meet the American consumer demand for cannabis, and we should not hold those entrepreneurs back from the full rights of citizenship and issue pardons for those with non-violent distribution charges,\u201d Justin Strekal, founder of the BOWL PAC, told Marijuana Moment.<\/p>\n Weldon Angelos, a criminal justice reform advocate who has worked with the White House on clemency issues since receiving a pardon for his own federal cannabis offense<\/a> in 2020, told Marijuana Moment that Biden\u2019s move is largely \u201csymbolic.\u201d<\/p>\n However, \u201cnothing like this has been done since Jimmy Carter, so I would still say it\u2019s a positive step,\u201d he said, adding that he thinks \u201ca lot more is coming.\u201d<\/p>\n Federal data has consistently shown that marijuana is the primary driver of the drug war, accounting for the majority of drug-related arrests. But reform advocates feel that the same basic arguments about the inherent unfairness and racially discriminatory enforcement of drug criminalization should lead to relief for all non-violent drug offenses.<\/p>\n That would theoretically include those who\u2019ve faced convictions and incarceration for violating punitive drug laws that Biden played a key role in crafting during his time in the Senate.<\/p>\n Before Biden issued the proclamation, the Last Prisoner Project and Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) launched a \u201cKeep Your Promise, President Biden!\u201d campaign that will involve scheduled civil disobedience protests on October 24 to call attention to the ongoing consequences of criminalization and push for broader reform.<\/p>\n SSDP Executive Director Jason Ortiz said<\/a> in a press release that the president\u2019s decision last week is \u201ca crystal clear example of direct action working.\u201d However, the organizations are proceeding with the campaign and protests because the action \u201cstops short of bringing justice to the thousands of federal cannabis prisoners<\/span> who should be released immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2014 SSDP and a collection of other reform groups also sent a letter to Biden on Monday previewing the protests and explaining that they\u2019re still necessary given that his recent pardon action didn\u2019t provide relief to \u201cthousands of federal cannabis prisoners currently incarcerated in federal prison.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cReleasing federal cannabis prisoners would go a long way in ending the nightmare that is the War on Drugs,\u201d the letter<\/a> says. \u201cYour leadership would show the voters that Democrats follow through on their campaign promises, giving the millions of cannabis voters a real reason to vote in November.\u201d<\/p>\n Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) said following the president\u2019s announcement that the pardons represent a \u201csignificant step,\u201d but more work has to be done to holistically address the drug war<\/a>, including expungements for cannabis convictions.<\/p>\n He signaled that the stage is set for such reform during the lame duck session after the midterm elections.<\/p>\n Vice President Kamala Harris was also asked about the prospects of Congress passing additional cannabis legislation, and she said during an interview on Monday that voters should vote for lawmakers who support reform in order to create a \u201cuniform\u201d policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, federal agencies like the Justice Department and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have committed to quickly processing the federal cannabis pardons<\/a>\u00a0and carrying out a review into federal marijuana scheduling.<\/p>\n A poll released on Friday found that a majority of Americans\u00a0are in favor of Biden\u2019s pardon proclamation<\/a>, and most also want to see their own governors follow suit with state-level cannabis relief.<\/p>\n Booker Is \u2018Very Hopeful\u2019 Congress Will Pass Marijuana Reforms In Lame Duck Session Following Biden\u2019s Pardons<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The post Who Is Left Behind By Biden\u2019s Marijuana Pardon? Immigrants, Military Members And More<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
President Joe Biden\u2019s surprise marijuana pardon action last week has been widely praised as an important step toward righting the wrongs of prohibition. But advocates have also been quick to point out that the move is seriously limited in scope and will leave many victims of the war on cannabisContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":57461,"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\/57460"}],"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=57460"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57460\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57462,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57460\/revisions\/57462"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57461"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57460"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57460"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57460"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}People with state-level cannabis convictions<\/h2>\n
Non-citizens<\/h2>\n
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![\"🍃\"](\"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/1f343.png\")
possession convictions, not some. <\/p>\n![\"🗽\"](\"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/1f5fd.png\")
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Military service members<\/h2>\n
People convicted for selling marijuana<\/h2>\n
Other drug war victims<\/h2>\n
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\nRead More: Who Is Left Behind By Biden\u2019s Marijuana Pardon? Immigrants, Military Members And More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"