I, Joseph R. Biden Jr., do hereby grant a full, complete, and unconditional pardon to all current United States citizens and lawful permanent residents who, on or before the date of this proclamation, committed or were convicted of the offense of simple possession of marijuana, attempted simple possession of marijuana, or use of marijuana, regardless of whether they have been charged with or prosecuted for these offenses on or before the date of this proclamation
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Good. Now legalize it and stop prosecuting people for having a plant.
That’s Congress’ job.
Actually it’s not. Congress long ago passed the Controlled Substances Act which places the authority for scheduling what drugs are considered illegal in the hands of the Dept. of HHS, the DEA, and Attorney General.
Currently, marijuana is considered a Schedule I drug along with heroin and LSD. Last year, though, Biden directed the Dept. of HHS to consider whether or not that is an appropriate classification. In August of this year, HHS informed the DEA that marijuana should be reclassified as a Schedule III drug. The DEA will now consider the recommendation and if they approve the HHS recommendation, as they have nearly if not always done, then they would send the recommendation to the AG who will make a final ruling.
Law enforcement is the purview of the executive branch and frankly there is not enough money for the executive branch to enforce all the laws that Congress passes. The executive branch must therefore decide what laws have priority. With a stroke of his pen, Biden could issue an executive order instructing the DoJ to stop enforcing drug laws relating to non-violent marijuana possession.
This does not preclude congress from taking action, either. There are options.
You are absolutely correct and it would be best if they did. My point was just that Congress isn’t required for there to be meaningful change.
Thanks for the correction and education. I responded out of frustration with complaints that are often levied at Biden that have nothing to do with his job.
You didn’t immediately accept the bullshit excuse! You don’t know how anything works!
…. attempted simple possession hmm
Right!?? What the fuck.
I mean, busting people for trying to purchase drugs is absolutely a thing. It’s a stupid thing, but still a thing.
Yes, I was momentarily dumbfounded by the stupidity of it.
I seem to recall a few years back that a governor was not allowed to issue “blanket” pardons, but had to specifically name the individual and charges being pardoned. I believe he spent days or weeks doing nothing but signing pardons.
Not 100% sure what you’re arguing, but Presidents can and have issued blanket pardons in the past. Notably, Carter issued a blanket pardon during his term for anyone who dodged the draft in the Vietnam era. I’m sure there are other examples.
Importantly, presidential pardons only work for federal crimes. State crimes cannot be pardoned by the president, they have to be pardoned by a governor.
Doesn’t this cover hunter’s alleged use? So his gun charge should be gine since he has been pardoned for use.
Copied from the HuffPost article I found first:
Hunter Biden was indicted in September for illegally owning a gun in 2018 after he lied on a federal form that asks gun buyers whether they’re on drugs. He admitted in a 2021 memoir that he was habitually using crack cocaine at the time.
It’s a pretty lose connection of him actually being on a crack at that exact time based on whatever he wrote in general. And it’s a crack, not mj. And I don’t feel like anyone got charged for that at any point in history, and that matters with a precedent-based court.
It’s funny how long it drags. Laptop, then that. Them going for the president’s son to (how?) smear the image of Biden senior is pathetic, just like counting times he tripped over something. Why’s that happening? Because Biden is quite literally the most neutral figure who causes a little to no controversy, so his opponents use these indirect nothing-burgers.
For sure, just like how people charged with murder are automatically off the hook if they got caught with a gram in their pocket which they had in their possession while committing the murder. /s
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There was another pardon issued last year that was less expansive. This one will likely cover a lot more people.
Imagine not reading anything and thinking you know everything. Lmao. Yikes.
This is dated today and references the previous one. I have no idea if its impact will be any wider, but your comment is inaccurate.
“DECEMBER 22, 2023”
Shit, they are from the future! The world Apparently hasn’t ended yet!
