By Nelson A. King
NEW YORK–New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams welcomed President Joe Biden’s decision to pardon past federal marijuana possession convictions.
“With this overdue action, thousands of Americans who saw their lives and livelihoods destroyed by a cannabis conviction are granted the new, budding opportunity,” Williams told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC), adding, “this is a vital, welcome first step from the Biden administration, but it is the first step.
“We should move quickly to legalize cannabis nationwide and prioritize reinvesting in the Black and Brown communities most devastated by its prohibition and unequal enforcement,” said Williams, the son of Grenadian immigrants.
“Pardons are a critical solution at this moment, but, as we have seen, full legalization is the only way to combat the massive disparities in enforcement that have burdened generations with criminal records and ensnared them in an unjust system,” he added.
Williams said he was “proud of the work we’ve done to decriminalize, de-stigmatize, and ultimately legalize marijuana in New York,” further urging New York State “to be spurred by this new federal action to more quickly implement a just economy for legal marijuana sales.”
On Thursday, President Biden announced three steps he said he was taking to “end this failed approach.”
He said. First, there will be a pardon of all prior federal offenses of simple possession of marijuana, and; he has directed the Attorney General to develop an administrative process for the issuance of certificates of pardon to eligible individuals, stating that there are thousands of people who have prior federal convictions for marijuana possession, which may be denied employment, housing, or educational opportunities as a result.
“My action will help relieve the collateral consequences arising from these convictions,” Biden said
Second, he urged all governors to do the same regarding state offenses. Third the US Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Attorney General to initiate the administrative process to “review expeditiously how marijuana is scheduled under federal law.”
Federal law currently classifies marijuana in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, the classification for the most dangerous substances.
Biden said this is the same schedule for heroin and LSD, “and even higher than the classification of fentanyl and methamphetamine – the drugs driving our overdose epidemic.”
The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) also applauded Biden for “taking these transformative steps to the right the historical injustices of the failed War on Drugs by reforming our approach to marijuana criminalization.
“Possession of marijuana has upended far too many lives and incarcerated Black people at an alarmingly disproportionate rate for activities many states no longer prohibit,” said CBC.
It added that criminal records for marijuana possession have also imposed insurmountable barriers to employment, housing, and educational opportunities for countless Black and brown Americans.
“The criminalization of marijuana has been a glaring racial justice issue in this nation, with Black communities bearing the brunt of this burden. “Today’s action by President Biden to remedy the failed approach to marijuana is a crucial step to righting the injustices of our past,” CBC said.
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