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Last week, President Joe Biden pardoned thousands of Americans who were convicted of marijuana possession under federal law over the past 50 years. The move doesn’t free anyone from prison (federal officials say no one is currently serving time in federal prison soley for marijuana possession, according to The New York Times), and it doesn’t decriminalize the sale and distribution of marijuana at the federal level or the possession of it on federal land. But it will likely remove barriers for seeking employment, housing and federal benefits.
It is unclear how many people will be affected, but 6,500 people were convicted of simple possession under federal law between 1992 and 2021, according to officials who spoke to the Times.
There is also an important racial justice undertone to the move, as people of color are far more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than white people.
“Sending people to jail for possessing marijuana has upended too many lives — for conduct that is legal in many states,” Biden said on Twitter last Thursday. “That’s before you address the clear racial disparities around prosecution and conviction. Today, we begin to right these wrongs.”
Biden said his administration will also review whether marijuana should remain a Schedule 1 drug, in the same category as heroin, LSD and fentanyl. This categorization makes no sense as state and federal authorities struggle to ease the opioid epidemic that has ravaged many states, including Maine.
While the pardons are good news, the growing disparity between state and federal laws regarding marijuana remains problematic.
Maine is one of 19 states where possession of small amounts of marijuana is legal. Many other states have a mixture of laws regarding recreational and medical marijuana use and possession. Legalization measures are on the ballot in five states this fall.
In Maine, after a 2016 referendum vote to legalize recreational marijuana use, those over 21 can possess up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana. After many delays, the sale of marijuana for recreational use in Maine began in 2020.
Medical use of marijuana was first legalized for some uses in Maine in 1999 and expanded through a ballot measure in 2009.
With marijuana use, cultivation and sales legal in many states, federal prohibitions are outdated. For example, federal marijuana laws make it risky for banks and credit unions to handle money from or lend money to marijuana businesses, which means these businesses often operate on a cash basis, which is dangerous. It also can shut out people of color who don’t have access to capital to start a cannabis business.
This legal patchwork of laws, some of which conflict, doesn’t make sense.
There is legislation to reform marijuana laws pending in Congress. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer introduced a bill to decriminalize marijuana at the federal level, while allowing states to set their own policies. It includes provision to change banking regulations as well so these institutions can handle transactions with the growing cannabis industry and creates a grant program for new small cannabis business owners from communities that have been disproportionately hurt by past drug policies. The House passed a bill earlier this year to address many of these issues.
While the comprehensive bill’s prospects seem dim in the Senate, parts of the legislation — especially around expunging records and updating banking laws for an industry that is rapidly growing — could be passed as stand-alone measures.
As society’s understanding and perception of marijuana and its consequences have changed, it makes sense to update our laws to reflect that reality. The Biden administration’s pardons are one step in that direction.
