- November 1, 2022
- 6,046
- Cannabis
U.S. U.S.
On Oct. 6, President Joe Biden announced that he would pardon anyone in the country with cannabis convictions. According to the official White House press release this means that the pardon will cover “…all current United States citizens as well as lawful permanent residents who have committed the offense of simple possession in violation of the Controlled Substances Act …”. The statement also stated that only “simple convictions” would be pardoned. Biden stated that the proclamation was intended to pardon the offense of simple possession in violation or violation of D.C. Code 48-904.01 (d)(1) and not other related offenses. The U.S. has provided estimates. The U.S. Sentenncing Commission gives an estimate of how many people could be granted a pardon. It was established in 1984. The U.S. founded the Sentencing Commission in 1984. SS 844 Involving Marijuana covers the period 1992-2021. A breakdown of the U.S. citizen offenders for each year is shown, with a total number of 6,577. According to the report, no offenders were in Federal Bureau of Prisons as of Jan. 29, 2022. 844) 78.5% were male and 21.6% female. 41.3% of offenders were White, 31.8% were “Hispanic,” 23.6% Black and 3.3% Other. A breakdown of each Court of Appeals Circuit shows that the highest percentage of regional offenders came out of “Virginia East”, which covers courts in Maryland, North Carolina and Virginia, as well as Texas West, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. “Arizona,” at 16.7%, and “California South,” at 15%. Both of these are included in the United States Court of Appeals, California, Hawaii and courts in Alaska, Nevada, Idaho, Montana and Washington State. Other district percentages range between 0.1% and 4.3%. Many states have programs in place to help residents get rid of, vacate, or seal cannabis convictions. According to Reuters these efforts have helped more than 2 million people clear their records. In June, the American Medical Association adopted a resolution for cannabis expungement. In August, there were also expungement clinics in Buffalo, New York. In September, the U.S. House Judiciary Committee introduced two pieces of legislation that would provide relief to individuals with cannabis convictions. Biden’s first pardon announcement urged states governors to also issue pardons. Indiana Governor. Eric Holcomb stated that he would not pardon anyone for cannabis convictions and instead recommended that those seeking expungement use existing state programs.