By President Joe Biden announced on Oct. 6 that he would grant amnesty to people across the country who are currently recording cannabis convictions. All current U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents who are guilty of simple possession of marijuana in violation…” are meant to be covered.
This statement also states:simple belief will be forgiven. “My intent with this declaration is to permit only the offense of simple possession of marijuana in violation of federal law or DC Code 48-904.01(d)(1) and any other offense related to marijuana or any other controlled substance. We don’t condone crime,” Biden said.
There have been no announcements about the number or names of those who will be pardoned since the announcement was made. however, US Sentencing Commission Provides insight into how many people are likely to be pardoned.
Founded in 1984, US Sentencing Commission It was created “to reduce sentencing imbalances and promote transparency and proportionality in sentencing.” As an independent agency, its purpose is to collect and analyze data on information related to federal sentencing and to develop criminal policy guidelines in multiple branches of government.
In a report issued Oct. 13, the Commission characterized “the number of federal offenders convicted only of 21 USC § 844 for marijuana,” covering a range from 1992 to 2021. shows the graph. The annual analysis breaks down a total of 6,577 US citizen offenders. The report notes that the Federal Prison Service (BOP) is free of offenders as of January 29, 2022.
All these offenders in total have at least one simple possession count (as defined by ). 21 USC 844) 78.5% of the offenders were male and 21.6% were female. In terms of race, 41.3% were white, 31.8% were “Hispanic”, 23.6% were black, and 3.3% were other.
Another chart shows that offenders with a conviction “involving marijuana and other drugs” included a total of 415 within the same timeframe, and another chart showed that: It is shown to include 555 offenders who “only involved marijuana with other convictions.”
A breakdown of each Court of Appeals circuit and their respective jurisdictions shows that the highest percentage of local offenders come from “Eastern Virginia,” with 9.7% (courts in Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia) ), indicating that it is from “West Texas”. 8.8% (covering courts in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas); 16.7% in “Arizona”; Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington). Percentages for all other districts range from 0.1% to 4.3%.
Many states have already created programs to help residents expunge, remove, or close cannabis convictions.according to Reutersthese efforts helped more than 2 million people clear the record.
In June, the American Medical Association adopted a resolution to expunge cannabis. More recently, an erasure clinic was held in Buffalo, NY in August. In September, the US House Judiciary Committee introduced two bills to help individuals convicted of cannabis.
Biden’s first pardon announcement prompted the governor to issue a pardon as well. , instead recommended that those seeking expungement use state programs already in place.
