President Joe Biden announced on Thursday that federal offenses of simple marijuana possessions would be pardoned.
President Joe Biden delivered on a campaign promise Thursday and announced a pardon to all prior federal offenses of simple marijuana possession, a move that the president said is a step to fix the “failed approach” to policing marijuana.
“There are thousands of people who were previously convicted of simple possession who may be denied employment, housing or educational opportunities as a result,” Biden said. “My pardon will remove this burden.”
Biden also called upon state governors to follow in the federal government’s footsteps, asking leaders to pardon state marijuana possession charges as well.
Tom Wolf, the Democratic governor of Pennsylvania, wasted no time in announcing that he had issued a “one-time, large-scale pardon” for people with “minor, non-violent marijuana convictions” an hour after Biden’s tweet.
“Under Pennsylvania law, I don’t have unilateral pardon authority,” Wolf wrote. “But I’m doing everything I can to right the wrongs of the failed war on drugs.”
Beto O’Rourke, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate for Texas, also tweeted his plans for reforming marijuana laws within an hour of Biden’s announcement.
“When I’m governor, we will finally legalize marijuana in Texas and expunge the records of those arrested for marijuana possession,” O’Rourke wrote.
Under Massachusetts law, residents over 21 years of age are legally allowed to purchase marijuana for recreational use.
