While Biden has granted pardons for anyone with a cannabis possession, there are still about 3,000 people in federal prison due to cannabis. They would need to get released through a commutation of their sentences.
To be fair to Biden, most pardons and clemency actions happen in the last few months before a president leaves office for good. But considering he isn’t running for office, Biden’s lame duck period started early, and still there is no action on these prisoners.
President Biden granted clemency to just under 13,000 people who had a marijuana conviction on their record, and this was a fantastic step forward. However, the people suffering the most from marijuana convictions are still waiting.
In March of this year, the Last Prisoner Project sent a list of names who should be given a commutation. Hopefully enough pressure is put on the president to act before it’s too late. Having to sit in prison for something people do out in the open must be an extremely tough pill to swallow.
Read the original article at USA Today.
