People who have found guilty of federal marijuana possession charges can now apply to receive certificates proving their convictions have been pardoned, the U.S. Department of Justice announced recently.
The application process is being rolled out five months after President Joe Biden granted the pardons for people convicted of simple marijuana possession offenses in federal court. Marijuana remains illegal under the federal Controlled Substances Act, despite states like New Jersey legalizing it for recreational use. Also, Biden’s pardon will not affect people who have been found guilty of marijuana-related offenses in state courts.
Biden’s federal pardons are intended to remove the barriers people who have been convicted of simple possession face. Having a record with a marijuana offense can impact a person’s ability to get housing, employment, education and travel. Federal convictions can also restrict are person’s civil liberties, such as a right to vote, the opportunity to run for public office, serve on a jury and the right to bear arms.
The pardons also acknowledge that people of color are disproportionately impacted by the marijuana laws. In the last five years, among the federal defendants convicted and then sentenced for marijuana possession crimes, just more than 70% are Hispanic, according to a report by the U.S. Sentencing Commission.
The number of people, overall, who have been sentenced for simple marijuana possession is relatively small and has been…
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