Arizonans benefit from Biden’s weed pardons

According to azcentral report, more Arizonans with state convictions for marijuana possession will benefit from President Joseph Biden’s recently announced pardons than previous offenders from almost any other state.

An analysis by the United States Sentencing Commission found that between 1992 and 2021, more than 1,450 Arizona individuals were convicted of federal marijuana possession charges, accounting for more than 20% of the estimated 6,500 such convictions affected by the pardons. California is the only state with more people pardoned under executive action, with about 1,550 low-level federal convictions for cannabis possession. The only other state with more than 1,000 such convictions was Texas with 1,015.

It’s not clear how many of those with federal convictions for marijuana possession also had other convictions not covered by the pardons. However, according to information from the Sentencing Commission, Arizona has had the highest number of convictions for simple marijuana possession than any other state since 2015. About 93% of the 500 convictions during that period resulted in prison terms, the data shows.

“I imagine this is a really welcome relief for a lot of people out there,” said Jonathan Udell, attorney at Rose Law Group and acting co-director of Arizona NORML.

“I think there’s a lot of people out there who are really hurt by being branded as a non-law-abiding citizen,” he continued. “And that sends a very big message to these people that you’re not a bad person because you once smoked a plant that grew out of the ground or had some weed in your pocket.”

Biden’s pardon covers 6,500 convictions

On Oct. 6, Biden announced that he had issued an executive order to pardon all federal convictions for simple marijuana possession. According to an analysis by The New York Times, the pardons will affect about 6,500 people convicted under federal law of marijuana possession and thousands more with similar charges in the District of Columbia.

“As I’ve said many times during my presidential campaign, no one should be in prison just for using or possessing marijuana. Sending people to jail for possession of marijuana has turned too many lives upside down and incarcerated people for behavior that many states no longer prohibit,” Biden said in a statement. “The criminal record for possession of marijuana has also created unnecessary barriers to employment, housing and educational opportunities. And while whites and blacks and browns use marijuana at similar rates, blacks and browns have been arrested, prosecuted, and convicted at disproportionate rates.”

Biden also called on state governors to take similar action in their jurisdictions, where the vast majority of cannabis possession charges are filed as state offenses and prosecuted. In addition, the President directed Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, Attorney General Merrick Garland and the Justice Department to review the continued designation of marijuana as a Schedule 1 substance under the Controlled Substances Act. According to the legislation, Schedule 1 classification is intended for medicinal products of no medicinal value and with a high risk of abuse.

Activists demonstrate at the White House for a cannabis pardon

Although many marijuana policy reform activists and cannabis industry officials hailed Biden’s pardon as a historic step, others were dissatisfied with the limited scope of the action, which provides no relief for other federal marijuana-related convictions and resulted in none Federal prisoners were released from prison. On Monday, activist groups including Students for Sensible Drug Policy, DC Marijuana Justice, the Last Prisoner Project and Maryland Marijuana Justice demonstrated outside the White House, calling on Biden to take more meaningful action against the cannabis pardon.

“It was a missed opportunity to make real change. The President could have done so much more than he did,” Steve DeAngelo, co-founder of the Last Prisoner Project, told The Washington Post. “He really did the bare minimum he could to craft a positive-sounding press release.”

With speakers including hip-hop icons Redman and Dead Prez’s M1, a 50-foot inflatable joint, and the arrest of at least one protester for walking through a security gate without a permit, protesters called on Biden to take all federal prisoners with him nonviolent marijuana release beliefs. Cannabis activist Adam Eidinger, co-founder of DC Marijuana Justice, said protesters’ demands included the immediate release of 100 prisoners and all 2,800 by Christmas.

“The greatest civil rights tragedy of modern times is putting people behind bars for cannabis,” said Eidinger. “If we get any interest from the White House and they are willing to schedule meetings with representatives of these protests, then I think we will call off civil disobedience and declare victory.”