Long opposed to the legalization of cannabis, U.S. President Joe Biden has put his personal convictions aside by announcing his willingness to move forward on the issue. Yesterday, Thursday October 6, the White House tenant pardoned several thousand people convicted of minor cannabis-related offences.
As was the case during his election campaign , when amnesty for cannabis possession and use was one of the candidate’s promises, Joe Biden repeated exactly what he had said then:“No one should go to prison for simply using or possessing cannabis”. The difference this time was that he put his money where his mouth was, calling on the governors of the 50 states to pardon those convicted of minor cannabis-related offences.
Too many lives have been upended because of our failed approach to marijuana. Hear from @POTUS on the three steps he is taking to right these wrongs. pic.twitter.com/IqOxHxjgue
— The White House 46 Archived (@WhiteHouse46) October 6, 2022
At a time when the movement to decriminalize cannabis at federal level is meeting with a strong response in the USA, Biden also called on health and judicial authorities to rethink penalties for cannabis use and possession. The 46th President of the United States nevertheless insisted on the importance of continuing the fight against the illegal trafficking of cannabis and its sale to minors.
Several thousand convicts pardoned.
These new measures are also aimed at rectifying the criminal procedures that predominantly affect ethnic minorities, said Barack Obama’s former vice-president.
In early April, the lower house of the US Congress approved a bill to remove cannabis from the federal list of hazardous substances.
The Senate, where Republicans remain in the majority, still has to validate the Democrat-led initiative for it to go into action.
Political timing
Biden’s announcement comes a month before the midterm elections, in which the Democrats could lose their parliamentary majority in one of the two houses of Congress.
Over the past thirty years, 6,500 people have been convicted of felony offences at federal level, which has been a major handicap when it comes to finding a job, renting an apartment or simply enrolling at university. These convictions will now be removed from the criminal record.
91% of Americans in favor of legalizing cannabis in one form or another
19 of the 50 US states have already legalized recreational cannabis, while in most states medical use is authorized.
Only a handful of ultra-conservative, rural states, such as Idaho, Wyoming and Nebraska, continue to maintain a hard-line prohibitionist stance.
Overall, the American population is overwhelmingly in favor of legalizing cannabis throughout the country.
According to a survey conducted by Pew Research last year, 91% of adults believe that cannabis should be legalized nationwide for either medical or recreational use… or both.
In 2021, legal cannabis sales in the United States generated $25 billion in sales. A figure that experts agree should continue to grow with the same momentum over the next 10 years.
