Highlights
- More than 40% to 50% of arrests had been made for possession of marijuana, in drug arrests.
- Bidens’ pardoning could remove the burden who were politically, economically, and educationally deprived.
- Pardoning orders triggered an uptick in movement in the market, especially in the cannabis-related industry.
- Pardoning will cover all the jails whether a convicted person is in the federal, or local jail.
In one of the orders of U.S. President Joe Biden, he pardoned thousands of individuals who were convicted of possession of marijuana, mentioning the current system makes no sense.
Though executive orders only apply to federal offenders who were convicted of marijuana possession, Bidens have called all the governors across the country to implement and follow the suit.
As per the statement of Joe Bidens,’ there should not be any person in federal prison just because he/she possesses marijuana, nor there should be any person either in a local jail or state prison for the possession of marijuana.
This pardoning will impact more than 6,500 people who were held for simple marijuana possession, and thousands more through pardons under the law.
However, this pardoning did not cover those persons or individuals who were not U.S. citizens and were living illegally in the country at the time of their arrest.
Effect of the executive order on the market
Some of the companies that do business in the cannabis-related industry had noticed and observed an uptick in movement in their business soon after Biden’s executive orders, on pardoning marijuana-possessed persons.
Along with an upward movement in the business, companies such as Canopy Growth and Tilray Brands had observed a spike, gaining 30% and 22% in trading during the afternoon time.
What actions president took apart from pardoning
Joe Biden had instructed the Secretary of Health and Human Services to begin reviewing how cannabis is classified under federal drug laws.
He also noted that cannabis has been put in schedule 1 substance under the federal drug sentencing guidelines – showing it the same as LDS and heroin -“it makes no sense.”
It is reported that in the upcoming days, the office will provide and implement a formal process to provide a certificate of pardon, to pardoned persons.
Impact of the pardoning
According to the reports, after the implementation of this order, there will be the restoration of political, civil, and other rights that were denied to the people who were convicted of possession of marijuana.
As possession of marijuana was a crime, there were a lot of individuals who were denied employment opportunities, housing, or educational opportunities due to this, however, after pardoning, these people could do things more freely than in past times.
Joe Bidens’ adds that pardoning will remove the burden on them.
What do records and data reflect?
As per the data, between 40% and 50% of all drug arrests across the nation, had been taken for possession of marijuana.
A research report compilation by the American Civil Liberties Union clearly shows that between 2010 and 2018, more than 6.1 million arrests had been made throughout the United States for the possession of marijuana than all violent crimes combined.
Data from the American Civil Liberties Union apparently show that these arrests disproportionately impacted low-income communities and people of color, exacerbating existing structural inequalities.