"No One Should Be In Jail For Possessing Marijuana": Biden
NDTV
In addition to the pardons, Joe Biden instructed the departments of justice and health to determine whether cannabis should be reclassified as a less dangerous substance.
US President Joe Biden pardoned thousands of Americans convicted of marijuana possession Thursday in a major new step towards destigmatizing the drug -- and fulfilling a promise to his supporters a month before midterm elections.
"I am announcing a pardon of all prior federal offenses of simple possession of marijuana," Biden said.
Biden did not call for fully decriminalizing cannabis, saying that "limitations on trafficking, marketing and under-age sales should stay in place."
Instead, he homed in individual possession of a substance that the government health authorities estimate was used by at least 18 percent of the population in 2019 -- and which is already permitted by multiple state governments for recreational or medical purposes.
