![](\"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/1f343-3.png\")
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) says that President Joe Biden\u2019s marijuana pardon proclamation should be \u201capplauded,\u201d but the action is nonetheless critically limited because it exempts non-citizens who constitute the vast majority of federal possession cases.<\/p>\n
During an interview with Pod Save America that aired on Tuesday, the congresswoman stressed the importance of having a Democratic Party that proactively stands up for Latino communities, including the immigrant population. Part of that means enacting inclusive policies, which was a missing element of the president\u2019s mass cannabis pardon.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Democratic Party has not tried in terms of Latino electorates. And I mean, where\u2019s our DREAM Act? Where is our immigration reform?\u201d she said. \u201cAnd, even recently with President Biden\u2019s marijuana executive order, I very much applauded that he went there, but he exempted people if they were convicted while they were undocumented.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\u201cThat is 90 percent. We\u2019re looking at the overwhelming majority of people who have been convicted that would benefit from that pardon, they have status complications,\u201d Ocasio-Cortez added. \u201cWe really need to step up, both in our efforts on campaigning but also our efforts in governance.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to a U.S. Sentencing Commission (USCC) report<\/a> from 2016, 92 percent of federal marijuana possession cases in Fiscal Yer 2013 occurred at the U.S. Southern border, and 94 percent of those people were not U.S. citizens. Those statistics have shifted year-to-year, but it nonetheless speaks to a broader trend in federal enforcement.<\/p>\n \u201cI see these conversations, and it\u2019s tough because on the other side, they have no qualms about having an anti-immigrant message, but I think we get scared of that,\u201d the congresswoman said. \u201cAnd that segmentation prevents a clear message, and that that lack of clarity makes it hard to win people over.\u201d<\/p>\n Ocasio-Cortez similarly called attention to people with citizenship status issues being left behind in the president\u2019s cannabis pardon order earlier this month.<\/p>\n \u201cIf the US is admitting these laws were unjust, then we shouldn\u2019t discriminate pardons based on citizen status,\u201d the congresswoman wrote on Twitter. \u201cLet\u2019s get that liberty and justice for ALL.\u201d<\/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 Biden\u2019s mass pardon impacted about 6,500 people who\u2019ve committed marijuana possession offenses<\/a> at the federal level, plus those who\u2019ve violated the law in Washington, D.C., but activists have argued that the relief should extend to people like immigrants and those with sales convictions<\/a>.<\/p>\n Activists with Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP), Last Prisoner Project (LPP) and DCMJ\u00a0staged protests outside of the White House on Monday<\/a>\u00a0to call attention to that issue, demanding that Biden release the estimated 2,800 people currently in federal prison for marijuana convictions that aren\u2019t limited to simple possession.<\/p>\n While Biden touted his cannabis clemency action, saying that he\u2019s \u201cchanged the lives of thousands of people,\u201d he\u2019s strongly indicated that he\u2019s unwilling to provide further relief<\/a> for those with sales convictions.<\/p>\n He said on Friday that he\u2019s \u201ckeeping my promise that no one should be in jail for merely using or possessing marijuana\u201d and \u201cthe records, which hold up people from being able to get jobs and the like, should be totally expunged. Totally expunged.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou can\u2019t sell it,\u201d the president added. \u201cBut if it\u2019s just use, you\u2019re completely free.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the White House drug czar on Monday again cheered Biden\u2019s \u201chistoric\u201d move<\/a> to issue a mass marijuana pardon and direct an administrative review of the drug\u2019s scheduling status. And he is again highlighting that there are \u201cclearly\u201d medical benefits of cannabis\u2014which he says shouldn\u2019t be ignored because of separate concerns about youth use.<\/p>\n DOJ and HHS have\u00a0committed to quickly carrying out the separate scheduling review<\/a>\u00a0the president directed, which could result in a recommendation to place cannabis in a lower schedule or remove it altogether, effectively legalizing the plant under federal law.<\/p>\n HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra has said\u00a0officials will \u201cwork as quickly as we can\u201d to complete the analysis<\/a>\u00a0of cannabis scheduling per the president\u2019s directive.<\/p>\n The Department of Justice, for its part, \u201cwill expeditiously administer the President\u2019s proclamation, which pardons individuals who engaged in simple possession of marijuana, restoring political, civil, and other rights to those convicted of that offense,\u201d a department spokesperson said.<\/p>\n Labor Secretary Marty Walsh said that officials will be working diligently to ensure that people who received a pardon for federal marijuana offenses under the presidential proclamation\u00a0are not impeded from future job opportunities<\/a>.<\/p>\n Vice President Kamala Harris said this month that voters should elect lawmakers who support marijuana reform so that Congress can enact a \u201cuniform approach\u201d to the issue\u00a0in light of the president\u2019s cannabis pardons<\/a>.<\/p>\n A series of polls have shown that Americans\u00a0strongly support the president\u2019s pardon action<\/a>, and they also don\u2019t think that marijuana should be federally classified as a Schedule I drug.<\/p>\n White House Drug Czar Applauds Biden\u2019s \u2018Historic\u2019 Marijuana Actions, Says Youth Cannabis Concerns Shouldn\u2019t \u2018Nullify\u2019 Medical Benefits<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The post AOC Criticizes Biden\u2019s Exempting Undocumented Immigrants From Marijuana Pardon, Saying Democrats Must \u2018Step Up\u2019 To Win Latino Votes<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) says that President Joe Biden\u2019s marijuana pardon proclamation should be \u201capplauded,\u201d but the action is nonetheless critically limited because it exempts non-citizens who constitute the vast majority of federal possession cases. During an interview with Pod Save America that aired on Tuesday, the congresswoman stressed theContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":57711,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81,126],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57710"}],"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=57710"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57710\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57712,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57710\/revisions\/57712"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57711"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57710"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57710"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57710"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
![\"🍃\"](\"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/1f343-2.png\")
possession convictions, not some. <\/p>\n![\"🗽\"](\"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/1f5fd-1.png\")
<\/p>\n\n
\n
\nRead More: AOC Criticizes Biden\u2019s Exempting Undocumented Immigrants From Marijuana Pardon, Saying Democrats Must \u2018Step Up\u2019 To Win Latino Votes<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"