A coalition of Democratic senators and representatives is urging the Biden administration to finalize plans to limit federal marijuana prosecutions and expand clemency efforts before President Joe Biden’s term concludes in January.
In a letter sent Tuesday, first reported by Rolling Stone, Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) joined Representatives Barbara Lee (D-CA), Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), and Ilhan Omar (D-MN) in emphasizing that marijuana rescheduling alone is insufficient. They argued that it would not end federal criminalization or address the persistent disparities between federal and state marijuana laws. “Possession and use of recreational marijuana — and much state-legal medical marijuana — will continue to be a violation of federal law,” the letter stated.
The letter. co-signed by Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Cory Booker (D-NJ), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), as well as Representatives Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Dina Titus (D-NV), James McGovern (D-MA), and Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), says “The Biden Administration has the opportunity to further reduce the harms of marijuana’s criminalization before the end of this Administration by issuing another round of clemency and an updated memorandum on prosecutorial discretion for marijuana offenses.”
While President Biden has issued several rounds of pardons for marijuana possession and other nonviolent drug offenses, lawmakers noted that the pardons provided limited relief. “Virtually no releases from prison” resulted, as most individuals in federal custody were convicted of more serious marijuana-related offenses. Estimates suggest that at least 3,000 people remain incarcerated for such offenses.
The lawmakers called on Biden to issue broader clemency, including additional pardons and commutations, and to deprioritize prosecutions for state-legal marijuana activities.
“We urge you to issue a memorandum that would deprioritize seizing marijuana and prosecuting individuals and businesses for state-legal marijuana activity”, states the letter. “Today, federal sentences for marijuana possession are rare, with only 13 individuals sentenced for simple marijuana possession in 2023, compared to over 2,000 in 2015. Still, the threat of a federal conviction persists. Of the almost 700,000 drug possession arrests each year, one-third are for marijuana possession, and Black Americans are almost four times more likely than white Americans to be arrested for marijuana possession.”
The letter notes that “Seizures of cannabis also persist; the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) continues to raid marijuana businesses and seize marijuana plants, and DHS’s Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) recently seized large amounts of state-legal cannabis at border patrol checkpoints, even dozens of miles into the interior of the country.”
