STATEMENT FROM DCMJ
ON
PRESIDENT BIDEN’S
CANNABIS PARDON PLEDGE
Today’s announcement by President Biden is a seminal moment for cannabis reform in the United States. We applaud the White House for taking steps to undo the harms of the drug war for some people convicted of simple possession of cannabis.
However, we also call upon the President to do more. Very few Americans are federally charged with simple possession of cannabis and even fewer remain behind bars. In fact, there is no one currently in federal jail for simple cannabis possession. We call on the President to go one step further and pardon Americans convicted of other nonviolent cannabis offenses such as distribution and cultivation. It’s these prisoners who need President Biden’s pardon the most.
With respect to working with the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Justice on rescheduling cannabis out of Schedule I, we call on the President to work with Congress to completely remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act. Moving cannabis to Schedule II, where it would join cocaine, fentanyl and methamphetamine, will still perpetuate the failed war on drugs and continue to allow adults to be arrested for possession, consumption, distribution, and cultivation. Simply put, we want cannabis to be entirely descheduled. As a natural plant, we believe cannabis should have never been placed in the CSA.
Members of DC Marijuana Justice were instrumental in the drafting and passage of Ballot Initiative 71 in the fall of 2014 in Washington, DC. This ballot initiative was the first piece of legislation that legalized the possession, distribution, and cultivation of cannabis on the East Coast of the United States. Shortly before becoming law, Republicans in Congress passed a budgetary rider that prohibited the government of the District of Columbia from passing any new legislation that reduced penalties for any Schedule I substance.
Should the White House move forward with the removal of cannabis from Schedule I, the District of Columbia will be allowed to enact much needed local cannabis reforms. DCMJ looks forward to working with the Council of the District of Columbia in helping draft more robust legislation that will empower more Americans that were impacted by the failed war on drugs to become entrepreneurs in the budding cannabis industry.
Earlier this week DCMJ, along with our sister chapters in Maryland, Virginia, and New York, had called upon President Biden to release 100 cannabis prisoners this month or we would join Students for Sensible Drug Policy and the Last Prisoner Project in a series of demonstrations on October 24. This demonstration has not been canceled due to today’s announcement.
We are unaware of 100 cannabis prisoners being released at this time. Moreover, the demonstrations will continue to highlight the need for the White House to fully deschedule cannabis and the Democratic Party to take cannabis reform seriously. Like we seriously want Congress to pass full legalization and we seriously want to see the names of all cannabis prisoners who are being released.
From free joints at Trump’s inauguration, to Joints for Jabs outside Covid vaccine centers, to free cannabis seeds, DCMJ has been at the forefront of politically motivated cannabis distribution. In all the pounds of cannabis we have given away over the last 7 years, we didn’t get arrested for distribution because we used the plant as a form of free speech. Today there are many cannabis growers and entrepreneurs who remain locked up because they were not charged with simple cannabis possession, but with cultivation and distribution. They used the plant to help feed their families and to help terminally-ill friends, and are considered heroes to many cannabis activists. They deserve pardons too.
In less than two weeks, on Wednesday, October 19, are are linking up with our sister groups for a special Zoom Sesh. Today’s announcement will be one of our topics of discussion .Please put it on your calendar and join us!
WHO: Supporters of Releasing Cannabis Prisoners
WHAT: DCMJ / MDMJ / VAMJ / NYMJ Zoom Sesh – Civil Disobedience Edition
WHEN: 7pm EST, October 19, 2022
WHERE: Zoom (Click here to Register!)
WHY: President Biden needs to uphold his campaign promise and immediately release at least 100 cannabis prisoners
SOCIAL: RSVP on Facebook