Team AOC - An email about marijuana

 

A lot of progress has been made on marijuana reform in the past month — but, there’s still a lot that needs to be done.

In this email, we’re going to get you up to speed on Biden’s recent executive order, the difference between marijuana pardons vs. expungements, and what steps Alexandria is calling for next to ensure that everyone is able to participate in society freely regardless of past marijuana possession.  

The TL;DR: 

On October 6, President Biden announced that he would pardon some (not all) simple federal marijuana possession convictions.

While the intent of this executive order should be applauded, additional action is needed from Congress and state governments to actually realize the intent of this order. Let’s dive in! 

What did Biden’s executive order do? 

President Biden issued pardons for all prior federal offenses of simple possession of marijuana, not expungements – which are not necessarily in his purview – and that’s an important distinction. More on that later… 

There are currently zero people in federal custody for simple possession of marijuana. So, in effect, no one was released from prison from this order.¹ 

President Biden’s pardon only applied to citizens with federal marijuana charges (of which there are about 6,500).² Many immigrants applying for citizenship could continue to face deportation or other adverse consequences for possessing a substance that is now legal in many states.

For those eligible, the pardon will restore civic rights lost due to the felony conviction (like voting, or serving on juries), but only if the marijuana charge was the only felony on their record.

What is a pardon vs. expungement?

A pardon ends a prison sentence, but it doesn’t erase the charge from your record, only expungement can do that.

Pardons allow leaders to release someone who has been incarcerated. But an expungement is extremely important because it’s a judicial process that allows a person's partial or entire record to be concealed. A pardon will reduce or decrease the penalty of a crime, but an expungement is what actually wipes that slate clean. 

If you pardon someone and they apply for a job for instance, the charge and the arrest is still on their record. Therefore, people with simple marijuana possessions are still being blocked from accessing housing, employment, financial aid for education, and other resources. 

We must expunge records in addition to providing pardons. Without expungement, a criminal record for marijuana use can still effectively bar you from participating in much of society. 

What’s next?

President Biden sent an important signal when he pardoned citizens with federal charges for simple marijuana possession. But there’s still a lot more to do. 

Last year, Alexandria introduced a bipartisan bill with Congressman David Joyce (OH-14) calling for the federal government to create grants to hand to states and local municipalities in order to actually fulfill and carry through the process of expungement of criminal records for the tens of millions of Americans who have previously been convinced of marijuana offenses. 

In addition, this week, Alexandria led a letter with Reps. Chuy Garcia and Ilhan Omar asking the President to pardon all simple marijuana possession offenses – regardless of immigration status – and reopen the immigration cases of those who were deported for marijuana-related offenses.

Thank you so much for reading. 

Team AOC