Biden takes steps toward decriminalizing marijuana

The Justice Department is working to get presidential pardons to roughly 6,500 people convicted of marijuana possession under federal law. President Joe Biden announced the pardons last Thursday. He also called on state governors to pardon those convicted of the charge at the state level. Biden said that no person “should be in jail” for using or possessing marijuana. The White House said no one is serving time in federal prison under the charge, but the pardon will help thousands with getting employment and housing.

What is “simple possession?” This charge is distinct from possession with the intent to distribute, or trafficking of the substance. Biden also ordered the secretary of Health and Human Services and the U.S. attorney general to review how marijuana is scheduled under federal law. Dropping marijuana from Schedule I to one of the lower tiers could at most eliminate, or at least reduce, penalties for involvement with the drug.

Dig deeper: Listen to my report on The World and Everything in It podcast about the push to decriminalize marijuana at the federal level.