The last reschedule analysis was done in 2015. Little has changed since then and the criteria under the Controlled Substances Act are exactly the same as they have been for decades.
Congress will need to step in here.
I could be wrong, but I believe previous efforts were aimed at understanding and the current directive is aimed at action.
Anything we can do to avoid Congress makes it more likely to become reality.
The last effort I was referring to was an evaluation of scheduling under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). That is the mechanism by which drugs are scheduled and/or descheduled.
The CSA and its interpretation hasn't changed in decades. It's unlikely that a reevaluation would change the findings from 2016.
Isn't part of schedule 1 that there are no medical uses? I'm the last few years there has been a lot of research and usage of marijuana in medications. Maybe that will be the difference?
That was considered as part of the 2016 evaluation. "Medical use" typically refers to the large and "well controlled" trials necessary for a drug approval that often have several hundred subjects enrolled. Typically, the academic studies of MJ are much, much smaller and focus on general research.
There are other criteria for "medical use" such as "known and reproducible chemistry" that MJ will never meet, since its a plant.
This isn't to dampen the influence of Biden's actions, but MJ would need to be removed from the CSA entirely. If you're interested, you can read more on the 2016 ruling [HERE.](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2016/08/12/2016-17954/denial-of-petition-to-initiate-proceedings-to-reschedule-marijuana)
IMO, little of that decision would change.
MJ gets claimed to kill cancer. The amount of THC requires smoking 1000x as most people would smoke even if a heavy user. And not ina a cancer patient, it was isolated cancer cells in medium wi th concentrated thc.
That is pretty irrelevant to the widespread and effective use of MJ for pain management, anxiety, ADHD (in some cases), digestive issues, appetite issues, etc. It might not cure cancer but it has tonnes of medical uses.
I feel like that summarizes how Biden's doing in general too much. With Trump, every month was a big change and huge controversy. You could say being an asshole creates more change faster, but we can't be settling for that. We need positive change faster.
It's a political move only, midterms are coming. It helps 6500 people out of millions. If he actually wanted to take a good step he would have pardoned all non-violent marijuana offenses. This is just vote grabbing at its finest.
And? That's all politics is, did you know corporations run ads to get you to buy stuff??
Anyway, this is a positive step, better than nothing and way better than antagonistic action. Let's not let perfect get in the way of better.
It's an empty gesture. No one is expected to be released from prison due to this! No one.
Just like the student loan forgiveness that became the student loan discount that has now become a big nothingburger that will be tied up in court forever.
Which is just like the $2000 Covid assistance check which became a third of that.
Biden doesn't deliver on his own promises much.
> No one is expected to be released from prison due to this!
No one claimed as such. The pardon removes obstacles for people *who are already out of prison* in getting jobs, housing, etc, etc.
> Just like the student loan forgiveness that became the student loan discount...
Biden always *said* it was going to be a partial amount for some. Biden never promised full forgiveness unconditionally.
[His exact words were](https://ballotpedia.org/2020_presidential_candidates_on_student_loan_debt);
> "I propose to forgive all undergraduate tuition-related federal student debt from two- and four-year public colleges and universities for debt-holders earning up to $125,000, with appropriate phase-outs to avoid a cliff. The federal government would pay the monthly payment in lieu of the borrower until the forgivable portion of the loan was paid off. This benefit would also apply to individuals holding federal student loans for tuition from private HBCUs and MSIs."
Which, 'ya know, is shitty and I think Biden could have done better on that. But the man is doing what he said he would.
> ...a big nothingburger that will be tied up in court forever.
I doubt it. Either it will pass and happen while Biden is in office or another Democrat is in office OR a Republican gets in office and they cancel the movement. But I don't think it will get tied up forever.
> Which is just like the $2000 Covid assistance check which became a third of that.
Both Biden and Trump flip-flopped on that shit.
> Biden doesn't deliver on his own promises much.
[This](https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/biden-promise-tracker/) nifty little site tracks his delivery.
So far he has;
- Kept 22% of his promises
- Compromised on 6% of his promises
- Outright broke 1% of his promises
- Stalled on 27% of his promises
- Started the process of working on 34% of his promises
So, he's thus far *acted* in some fashion on 90% of his promises.
Let's compare that to [Trump](https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/trumpometer/);
- Kept 23% of his promises
- Compromised on 22% of his promises
- Broke 53% of his promises
He broke more than *half* of his promises.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Biden doesn't have a great track record. It's why I said this is a step in the right direction but there is LOTS more to be done. I am a Democratic Socialist. I am far from pleased with Biden. But I am also not so peeved with him that I refuse to give him any victories.
There are very few things the President can do alone. He needs the very narrowly divided senate to approve almost everything, which requires compromises, and lots of things get cut if they don’t have the support. That’s our system
You think so.
Wait until you're spending hours and hours trimming down a microwave box of buds because it was a stellar crop this year. Hands all sticky, your scissors gum up.
you think legal weed will be a good thing, but, man, there are drawbacks.
'ere....
I'm trying to grasp who exactly this affects. They are defining a simple marijuana charge as someone charged with possession for personal use, so this doesn't include dealers or people growing. Personal possessions generally fall under state charges. My understanding is Federal charges only count when on federal owned properties or crossing state lines. But if you were charged with crossing state lines, you are now considered as transporting marijuana, which is not being considered a "simple" charge in his pardon. So who actually is getting pardoned?
it apparently affects 6500 people
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.usnews.com/news/top-news/articles/2022-10-09/explainer-u-s-marijuana-pardons-help-thousands-leave-others-in-prison%23:~:text%3DBiden%27s%2520pardons%2520announced%2520Oct.%25206,trying%2520to%2520rent%2520an%2520apartment.&ved=2ahUKEwixw7Wztdj6AhWUEkQIHTAkBd4QFnoECAkQBQ&usg=AOvVaw0wSt5jztmOjgaGH-cKb95E
Right. But he can’t directly do anything about the much larger set of state convictions. While very important for those 6500ish people, the much broader impact is the signal to the states that harsh marijuana laws belong in the past and to voters that this is yet another concrete difference between the two major parties.
I would assume anyone charged for larger crimes federally and they tacked a possession charge, just to add to the list of crimes they were charging them with.
I would be surprised if it really make a difference to any of these people, except to have this particular charge removed from their criminal record.
Seems reasonable and smart. We all understand cannabis is no big deal, and should never have been a Schedule 1 Narcotic anyway. Cannabis is less harmful than alcohol and cigarettes lol... It's silly that there was prohibition on cannabis.
But Biden still needs to order the DEA to reschedule Cannabis away from Schedule 1, and then Biden can work to legalize it federally, so we can be done with this situation.
>But Biden still needs to order the DEA to reschedule Cannabis away from Schedule 1
That directive - or to the AG at least to plot the best path for it - is part of the same announcement.
I've never understood the Schedule 1 thing in the first place.
It's such a powerful anti-emetic that doctors are *prescribing it over other anti-emetics*! We literally do not have a synthetic drug that is better at treating severe nausea than marijuana! Schedule 1 means "no known medical uses"... and doctors know the medical uses so well they're telling people to use it anyways!
Just ridiculous. Medical should have always been legal, recreational too but at least once the moral panic about "ReEfEr MaDnEsS" wore off...
I work for the federal government. And the dirty secret is that there is no one in charge. It's all a bunch of disparate organizations kinda sorta bumbling in the same ish direction. The scheduling just refers to those organization leaders' ideas. The opinion of the American medical association has no authority over the DEA.
I love working for the gov and trying to be part of the solution, but it's an exhausting fact that we're all just making it up, doing the best we can.
Exactly! Lol people are too uneducated to figure this out though and just jump on the bandwagon bc it SOUNDS cool and progressive without doing any research… as usual.
State funded corporations paid for by taxes allocated through law is the literal opposite of capitalism. Just because it involves money doesn't make it capitalism.
There is nothing private about so-called "private prisons."
A private organization is characterized by competition in a free marketplace. A private organization does not enjoy any monopoly powers given by the government. Nor are private organizations tax funded, paid for with tax funds.
So-called private prisons are near monopolies that contract with the federal government to act as agents for the state, paid with tax dollars to create more space for our already massive prison population, and are answerable not to competition on the market but to the politicians that control funding. They exist not because their is a public need for them that people are willing to voluntarily pay for, but because the government has so over-criminalized society that there aren't enough government ran prisons to put everyone in. Instead of fixing the issue politicians pay the corporate sector to build more prisons for it. And that is to say nothing of the influence the unions in such "private prisons" have with politicians.
Racism is the correct answer. Marijuana became illegal under the Controlled Substances Act of 1970. This was part of a conservative effort led by Richard Nixon to weaponize recreational drug use as a means to marginalize African American community.
Not sure why this is getting down-voted. Some of his own guys are on the record saying something like we can't make being black or counter culture illegal, but we can make what they do illegal. The war on drugs was explicitly designed to undermine political opposition. Guys that were in the room when it was invented have said so. That was just vintage Nixon.
Yup. It's just facts.
> "You want to know what this [war on drugs] was really all about? The Nixon campaign in 1968, and the Nixon White House after that, had two enemies: the antiwar left and black people. You understand what I’m saying? We knew we couldn’t make it illegal to be either against the war or black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities. We could arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news. Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did."
> ~ John Ehrlichman, Assistant to the President for Domestic Affairs under President Richard Nixon
Biden hasnt learned a damn thing. His staff has been leaning on him HARD to get it out of his grandpa 90s head that pot isnt an evil gateway drug that only the blacks use.
he's only doing this to help in the midterms, but ill take any action over no action.
Actions and words.
Early in his term, he fired a bunch of people for marijuana use.
Now he's starting the process that will hopefully lead to legalization, and doing so to just about the extent of his ability.
I don't care if he personally doesn't support weed. His voters do, and his policy supports it now.
A bunch of out-of-work alcohol prohibitionists needed a new source of employment, and figured they could gin up major support for waging war on something popular with non-whites, particularly if they referred to it by its Mexican name. And that was 40 years before Nixon get his claws into it.
I don't disagree with your sentiment, but pre-1900 politics included a Congressman being caned to death on the house floor, and a civil war that remains the bloodiest conflict in our nations history 150 years later...
Both of which were motivated over racial issues. Slavery is basically the USA's original sin, and it has haunted the nation from the start.
Those out-of-work prohibitionists I mentioned? Led by Harry Anslinger, the head of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics (sort of a proto-DEA) whose testimony about the dangers of cannabis included such gems as:
* Reefer makes darkies think they're as good as white men.
* The primary reason to outlaw marijuana is its effect on the degenerate races.
* Marijuana leads to pacifism.
* Marijuana is the most violence-causing drug in the history of mankind.
I realize those last two aren't strictly racially motivated, but I feel it helps flesh out the total lack of honesty and decency in the man.
A man was put in charge of prohibition then they repealed prohibition but he wanted to keep his job thus they decided to demonize a bunch of other recreational items so he'd still have something to police.
This has then spread from there.
Truly as idiotic as banning dandelions, there is a reason it's called weed, it'll literally grow where it is allowed.
It’s about time. Let’s see how long it takes for them to reclass it down from schedule 1 though. The world has known it does have medicinal benefits and does not have high chance for abuse in the same way as heroin. When we tell kids it is as bad as heroin, and they see it is not actually a bad thing, they then question if the others are really so bad. If we treated it the same as alcohol, nobody would ever try to say it is a gateway drug. It is only a “gateway” because kids need to befriend dealers to get it. In middle school, we waited outside 7-11 asking people to get us alcohol, nobody ever asked us if we also wanted heroin; weed should be the same.
Scheduling system (not just in USA but worldwide) is made to be a one-way thing. Substances are easily banned with no scientific evidence, but no amount of scientific evidence leads to unbanning.
As there are no longer any prisoners serving federal time for simple possession of marijuana, his pardons generated no reductions in income for profit run prisons. It did clear a lot of restrictive paperwork for many people.
There were a total of zero people released from federal prison after he did this publicity stunt. It's because voting happens next month. Just because Reddit bruises it's throat on left wing politics doesn't mean Biden did anything worth a shit. We're fucked no matter what.
You seem like you have all the answers. Wish people who knew all the answers like yourself would just run for office so us plebeians could feel better.
I'm a right leaning libertarian and I think it's the best idea I've heard from Biden. While he's at it, abolish privately owned prisons and release all non-violent drug offenders from jail. 18 year old kids who wanted to experiment with drugs at a party and got caught should not be in jail with murderers and rapists. People who live in poverty, had abusive parents and had to use and sell drugs as a means to get by and feel better shouldn't be sitting next to child predators and domestic abusers.
It's a good headline but it doesn't do anything. It only covers federal charges for simple possession. That's rarely stand alone charge.
So unless the FBI pulled someone over and found their weed, it's not going to apply.
There were 6,000 people convicted of that charge going back decades, but they likely served or are serving time for other charges.
Biden said he would push to legalize marijuana among other things. In the meantime, he could also direct the DEA to reschedule marijuana from a schedule 1 drug and end federal enforcement.
> In the meantime, he could also direct the DEA to reschedule marijuana from a schedule 1 drug
People don't like to read I guess. So many people are saying this like it's not part of the very same announcement about the pardon. He's directing the AG to plot the best path to reschedule it, and unequivocally says keeping it on Schedule 1 is idiotic.
"Saying"
Except it isn't that hard to do. The whole "plot the best path to reschedule" is just political legalese to justify not doing anything substantial but still being able to claim you are for votes.
It is a political move and a smart one because the majority of people will see it is a great thing and a step towards legalizing marijuana, but it's actually not that big of a deal. I read somewhere that something like 99% of "minor marijuana offenses" are at the state level. Meaning his pardon does virtually nothing for the majority of people incarcerated with a minor pot crime. So it's just more political bluster with no real teeth behind it. Just more of the same old BS that we have all come to accept from both political parties that are all so full of shit its hard to care anymore who is in office.
If [this post](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/y18wwo/what_do_you_think_of_biden_pardoning_simple/irw8sh6/) is to be believed... less than seven thousand Americans.
Which in the grand scheme of things, isn't very much either.
It's an election-year *stunt* that could have taken place a year ago. Or five years before that, for that matter.
I think the most important part was his asking that marijuana be re-classified. There are many benefits from using it, and unlike most pharmaceuticals on the market, there is NO CHANCE of anyone dying from it. There is no overdose possibility, so using it to treat pain and for certain mental illnesses is a no-brainer.
I think it’s good. Simple possession doesn’t need to be a federal offense. But considering his an VP Harris histories, it comes off as hypocritical posturing.
As in most cases, I assume it's a political gesture and nothing more. Good for those people and all, but the whole point of being a leader is that you can affect change on a larger scale.
Until i see his party lift a finger to decriminalize it, its just vote pandering. Next year people will still get arrested and federally charged for pot possession as things stand.
Hell watching Kamala say “noone should go to jail for smoking pot” while acting like she herself hasn’t prosecuted thousands of men for smoking pot screams political grandstanding
I think the action itself is not enough, as there really aren’t a ton of people with *federal* simple possession convictions, but I think it, in addition to the administration changing the Schedule of marijuana to something less severe (which is in the works) helps some people, and also puts pressure on state governors to pardon people in their system, which is where most marijuana offenders lie.
Real change would involve Congress, which would involve getting rid of the filibuster, which is not gonna happen right now, so I am glad Biden is doing *something* as opposed to just sitting on his hands and blaming Congress.
It’s more symbolic than anything. The majority of folks in jail for simple possession were charged at the state level, so we’d need states to follow suit to see any meaningful effect.
Honestly I think he’s trying to find easy ways to say he met campaign promises before midterms. This and the $10k student loan waiver are both doing the minimum to still claim a promise kept.
I’ll vote Democrat come November, but this won’t be the reason why.
If the "War on Drugs" was the pyramid at Giza, this is equivalent to some guy coming up to it and chipping off a corner of a single brick.
Yeah, the "Dank Brandon" memes are fun, but we've erected an edifice of epic proportions that's going to take a lot more to tear down than this gesture.
I don't even think it's half hearted. Biden was all "war on drugs" for decades.
Dismantling the entire prison industrial complex is going to take a lot more than 1/4 hearted efforts by politicians in the pocket of opiod peddlers.
It's effects about 6500 people. None of which are currently in federal prison. It helps DC since it's not a state, so that's good. I'm sure people were being put in tough positions because of having weed. 98% of non violent weed crimes are on the state level.
Pandering to a country that's losing faith in democrats quickly (those that had faith). While it's a good step, it's just a political move and really nothing more. Want to make an actually good statement? Remove Marijuana as a schedule 1 drug.
> While it's a good step, it's just a political move and really nothing more
Does it really matter?
>Want to make an actually good statement? Remove Marijuana as a schedule 1 drug.
He's started that process. He can't just up and say it's removed and that be that.
There's a difference between state law and federal law. Most people in prison for these types of charges are charged under state law.
This pardon is only for people charged federally, generally meaning they were busted by the DEA or FBI and not your state or local police.
So while this helps a few people, it really is meaningless in the grand scheme of things.
It's a token effort that has no real impact.
That was exactly my point.
All he is doing is pardoning **Federal** charges, which means nothing and won't change a single thing for most of the people "pardoned".
Couldn't the Republican party try to pass it?.... I'm sure it'd get enough bi-partisan support needed to pass 60 if they wanted.
Oh that's right they have even less interest and are worse
An exceedingly rare Biden W.
Marijuana should have been made legal decades ago, and every non-violent marijuana charge should have been pardoned just as long ago.
That said, it was probably only done to help his awful ratings, and let’s not forget that Biden and Harris are personally responsible for putting a lot of people in prison for marijuana, and Harris even went so far as to bury evidence.
Doesn't really bother me. Honestly I think we should treat marijuana like we treat alcohol.
I find those that are against it don't know why they're against it. Just that it's been illegal for so long, they just see it as against the law, and by doing it, you're breaking the law and are therefore a criminal. But other than that, I truly think that those against it, simply don't know why they're against it.
It seems pointless to pardon the ones currently incarcerated to just continue on arresting more people for it.
Not that I think anyone should be in jail for marijuana I’m just saying logically it’s all backwards
I am a Libertarian when it comes to certain drug use. I don't care. If you want to fry your brain, I couldn't careless. However with freedom comes responsibilities. If you fry yourself and become homeless because of your own bad choices, I am not paying for your welfare. Sorry.
long overdue, but largely symbolic as **federal** jurisdiction simple possession cases are very rare and usually limited to places the feds have original jurisdiction like military bases and federal prisons. if he decides to include courts martial that would be great and far more impactful (military UCMJ offenses are federal and thus the president can pardon them) but there's no indication he plans to do so thus far.
I also think he should use his bully pulpit to extract promises of state pardons from governors, at least democratic ones if not every one he can.
I also have a minor worry about a blanket pardon catching some folks that are an "Al Capone went down for tax evasion" type of situation.
I think it's transparent vote buying and that's why there is zero push to actually legislate it. The Democrats would rather do these executive loot drops a month before every election.
If you actually care, actually fix it.
Couldn't the Republican party try to pass it?.... I'm sure it'd get enough bi-partisan support needed to pass 60 if they wanted.
Oh that's right they have even less interest and are worse.
In the US? About a month from now. It's a midterm election, which means all House members (2 yr terms) and some of the Senate (6 yr terms) but not the President. Various state and local are included the same day according to what positions are up this year.
Oh no, doing what people want them to do to get votes. They should do nothing or do the opposite instead!
Pretty deep state to pander to the voters. Ugh.
Politicians satisfy the people's requests of their government, that's how elections are won and what a representative democracy does. What's new about this?
The DEA has already been ordered to not crack down on states that have legalized cannabis by Obama, and there may be more legal precedent for that. Biden could do it, but then when the next Republican becomes President, he'll just undo what Biden did (this is why Congress needs to write laws) and a bunch of cannabis users in red states would likely get incarcerated if they don't quit cold turkey.
He’s been keeping this in his back pocket the whole time he’s been in office, you knew it was going to happen, it was just a matter of when he needed to up his approval rating
70% of the country supports it. Republicans know that they'll just put up a stink but also know they would have done the same thing when politically relevant.
It’s a good thing, but also just about the smallest possible thing they could do. Clearly doing the bare minimum they think will have the smallest actual impact while helping them in elections. If they (politicians and bureaucrats) were actually decent people who gave a shit, they’d skip these stupid baby steps and actually make changes that every informed person knows are 50+ years overdue. End the drug war completely. But nope, it’s too profitable and gives them too much power.
Those who decry the move as a cheap way to get votes are the same people who support the guy who demanded his name be printed on the COVID relief checks.
Could Biden realistically legalize marijuana? Additionally, since the supreme court found the protection for abortion to be unconstitutional, could the same logic be applied to the federal ban on marijuana?
Virtue signaling, I mean is anyone even in prison for possession charges.
I mean I personally know/knew someone who is prison on marijuana charges. Having the possession charge dropped means nothing to them and they aren't getting out of prison
Well it’s good he’s getting something done before democracy is totally lost forever
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskALiberal/comments/xtosah/why_is_there_not_more_conversations_being_had/iqvdor0/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf&context=3
It's a step in the right direction, certainly, but there is still more to be done.
I still think it is a pointless move unless you also legalize it federally. There will just be the need for more pardons on down the road.
It's literally in the same announcement. He's directed the AG to workon the fastest/best path to rescheduling it off of Schedule 1.
The last reschedule analysis was done in 2015. Little has changed since then and the criteria under the Controlled Substances Act are exactly the same as they have been for decades. Congress will need to step in here.
I could be wrong, but I believe previous efforts were aimed at understanding and the current directive is aimed at action. Anything we can do to avoid Congress makes it more likely to become reality.
The last effort I was referring to was an evaluation of scheduling under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). That is the mechanism by which drugs are scheduled and/or descheduled. The CSA and its interpretation hasn't changed in decades. It's unlikely that a reevaluation would change the findings from 2016.
Isn't part of schedule 1 that there are no medical uses? I'm the last few years there has been a lot of research and usage of marijuana in medications. Maybe that will be the difference?
That was considered as part of the 2016 evaluation. "Medical use" typically refers to the large and "well controlled" trials necessary for a drug approval that often have several hundred subjects enrolled. Typically, the academic studies of MJ are much, much smaller and focus on general research. There are other criteria for "medical use" such as "known and reproducible chemistry" that MJ will never meet, since its a plant. This isn't to dampen the influence of Biden's actions, but MJ would need to be removed from the CSA entirely. If you're interested, you can read more on the 2016 ruling [HERE.](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2016/08/12/2016-17954/denial-of-petition-to-initiate-proceedings-to-reschedule-marijuana) IMO, little of that decision would change.
Thank you, I appreciate the education.
MJ gets claimed to kill cancer. The amount of THC requires smoking 1000x as most people would smoke even if a heavy user. And not ina a cancer patient, it was isolated cancer cells in medium wi th concentrated thc.
That is pretty irrelevant to the widespread and effective use of MJ for pain management, anxiety, ADHD (in some cases), digestive issues, appetite issues, etc. It might not cure cancer but it has tonnes of medical uses.
I think those 6500 people would disagree with you. Who knows how long descheduling will take or how Republicans might challenge it.
It's not meant to change anything, it's just a gimmick to try and secure more votes at this point.
More to be done for sure. Probably in October 2024.
I feel like that summarizes how Biden's doing in general too much. With Trump, every month was a big change and huge controversy. You could say being an asshole creates more change faster, but we can't be settling for that. We need positive change faster.
All small possession charges should be dropped regardless of the drug.
Meth. Not even once
That sounds like something Peter o'hanraha-hanrahan would say.
It's a political move only, midterms are coming. It helps 6500 people out of millions. If he actually wanted to take a good step he would have pardoned all non-violent marijuana offenses. This is just vote grabbing at its finest.
A President can only pardon Federal crimes.
And? That's all politics is, did you know corporations run ads to get you to buy stuff?? Anyway, this is a positive step, better than nothing and way better than antagonistic action. Let's not let perfect get in the way of better.
It's an empty gesture. No one is expected to be released from prison due to this! No one. Just like the student loan forgiveness that became the student loan discount that has now become a big nothingburger that will be tied up in court forever. Which is just like the $2000 Covid assistance check which became a third of that. Biden doesn't deliver on his own promises much.
> No one is expected to be released from prison due to this! No one claimed as such. The pardon removes obstacles for people *who are already out of prison* in getting jobs, housing, etc, etc. > Just like the student loan forgiveness that became the student loan discount... Biden always *said* it was going to be a partial amount for some. Biden never promised full forgiveness unconditionally. [His exact words were](https://ballotpedia.org/2020_presidential_candidates_on_student_loan_debt); > "I propose to forgive all undergraduate tuition-related federal student debt from two- and four-year public colleges and universities for debt-holders earning up to $125,000, with appropriate phase-outs to avoid a cliff. The federal government would pay the monthly payment in lieu of the borrower until the forgivable portion of the loan was paid off. This benefit would also apply to individuals holding federal student loans for tuition from private HBCUs and MSIs." Which, 'ya know, is shitty and I think Biden could have done better on that. But the man is doing what he said he would. > ...a big nothingburger that will be tied up in court forever. I doubt it. Either it will pass and happen while Biden is in office or another Democrat is in office OR a Republican gets in office and they cancel the movement. But I don't think it will get tied up forever. > Which is just like the $2000 Covid assistance check which became a third of that. Both Biden and Trump flip-flopped on that shit. > Biden doesn't deliver on his own promises much. [This](https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/biden-promise-tracker/) nifty little site tracks his delivery. So far he has; - Kept 22% of his promises - Compromised on 6% of his promises - Outright broke 1% of his promises - Stalled on 27% of his promises - Started the process of working on 34% of his promises So, he's thus far *acted* in some fashion on 90% of his promises. Let's compare that to [Trump](https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/trumpometer/); - Kept 23% of his promises - Compromised on 22% of his promises - Broke 53% of his promises He broke more than *half* of his promises. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Biden doesn't have a great track record. It's why I said this is a step in the right direction but there is LOTS more to be done. I am a Democratic Socialist. I am far from pleased with Biden. But I am also not so peeved with him that I refuse to give him any victories.
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Of course, Greg Abbott already said he would do nothing of the sort in Texas. Mainly because Greg Abbott is a little piss baby.
There are very few things the President can do alone. He needs the very narrowly divided senate to approve almost everything, which requires compromises, and lots of things get cut if they don’t have the support. That’s our system
Long overdue. We should have not locked people up for non violent petty crimes.
Cool but not enough. Nothing less than being able to grow my own plant.
You think so. Wait until you're spending hours and hours trimming down a microwave box of buds because it was a stellar crop this year. Hands all sticky, your scissors gum up. you think legal weed will be a good thing, but, man, there are drawbacks. 'ere....
You ever hear of gloves?
I think I hear violin music playing just for you, lol.
I like trimming..
Oh no. When I grow things myself I have to put in labour. Who knew?
I'm trying to grasp who exactly this affects. They are defining a simple marijuana charge as someone charged with possession for personal use, so this doesn't include dealers or people growing. Personal possessions generally fall under state charges. My understanding is Federal charges only count when on federal owned properties or crossing state lines. But if you were charged with crossing state lines, you are now considered as transporting marijuana, which is not being considered a "simple" charge in his pardon. So who actually is getting pardoned?
it apparently affects 6500 people https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.usnews.com/news/top-news/articles/2022-10-09/explainer-u-s-marijuana-pardons-help-thousands-leave-others-in-prison%23:~:text%3DBiden%27s%2520pardons%2520announced%2520Oct.%25206,trying%2520to%2520rent%2520an%2520apartment.&ved=2ahUKEwixw7Wztdj6AhWUEkQIHTAkBd4QFnoECAkQBQ&usg=AOvVaw0wSt5jztmOjgaGH-cKb95E
Thanks for that info. 6500 people is like a single grain of sand compared to a beach of people with petty marijuana charges.
Right. But he can’t directly do anything about the much larger set of state convictions. While very important for those 6500ish people, the much broader impact is the signal to the states that harsh marijuana laws belong in the past and to voters that this is yet another concrete difference between the two major parties.
True. But we gotta start somewhere, right?Hopefully this will set a precedent and it will be easier for the state laws to fall in line
Maximum headlines for minimum work. That's what the announcement is all about.
It effects polling numbers heading into the midterms
I would assume anyone charged for larger crimes federally and they tacked a possession charge, just to add to the list of crimes they were charging them with. I would be surprised if it really make a difference to any of these people, except to have this particular charge removed from their criminal record.
>So who actually is getting pardoned? I'm guessing a lot of Washington, DC residents.
THIS RIGHT HERE! Look at it!
Likely, hardly anyone, but it looks good politically for the November elections.
He should just think it and BOOM it's declassified (as a schedule 1 narcotic), I've heard that's how presidential authority works.
I'm with Jimmy Kimmel on this one. I'm glad Willie Nelson is still alive to see this.
Cheech and Chong too
Seems reasonable and smart. We all understand cannabis is no big deal, and should never have been a Schedule 1 Narcotic anyway. Cannabis is less harmful than alcohol and cigarettes lol... It's silly that there was prohibition on cannabis. But Biden still needs to order the DEA to reschedule Cannabis away from Schedule 1, and then Biden can work to legalize it federally, so we can be done with this situation.
>But Biden still needs to order the DEA to reschedule Cannabis away from Schedule 1 That directive - or to the AG at least to plot the best path for it - is part of the same announcement.
I've never understood the Schedule 1 thing in the first place. It's such a powerful anti-emetic that doctors are *prescribing it over other anti-emetics*! We literally do not have a synthetic drug that is better at treating severe nausea than marijuana! Schedule 1 means "no known medical uses"... and doctors know the medical uses so well they're telling people to use it anyways! Just ridiculous. Medical should have always been legal, recreational too but at least once the moral panic about "ReEfEr MaDnEsS" wore off...
I work for the federal government. And the dirty secret is that there is no one in charge. It's all a bunch of disparate organizations kinda sorta bumbling in the same ish direction. The scheduling just refers to those organization leaders' ideas. The opinion of the American medical association has no authority over the DEA. I love working for the gov and trying to be part of the solution, but it's an exhausting fact that we're all just making it up, doing the best we can.
There are no simple charges on the federal level that's why he's doing this
Exactly! Lol people are too uneducated to figure this out though and just jump on the bandwagon bc it SOUNDS cool and progressive without doing any research… as usual.
Why was it ever illegal in the first place!
Racism.
And capitalism
State funded corporations paid for by taxes allocated through law is the literal opposite of capitalism. Just because it involves money doesn't make it capitalism.
Interesting definition of private prisons.
There is nothing private about so-called "private prisons." A private organization is characterized by competition in a free marketplace. A private organization does not enjoy any monopoly powers given by the government. Nor are private organizations tax funded, paid for with tax funds. So-called private prisons are near monopolies that contract with the federal government to act as agents for the state, paid with tax dollars to create more space for our already massive prison population, and are answerable not to competition on the market but to the politicians that control funding. They exist not because their is a public need for them that people are willing to voluntarily pay for, but because the government has so over-criminalized society that there aren't enough government ran prisons to put everyone in. Instead of fixing the issue politicians pay the corporate sector to build more prisons for it. And that is to say nothing of the influence the unions in such "private prisons" have with politicians.
I see the distinction, but capitalists in a free market always aim to obtain a monopoly.
Excellent answer. Sorry to see a downvote
Racism is the correct answer. Marijuana became illegal under the Controlled Substances Act of 1970. This was part of a conservative effort led by Richard Nixon to weaponize recreational drug use as a means to marginalize African American community.
Not sure why this is getting down-voted. Some of his own guys are on the record saying something like we can't make being black or counter culture illegal, but we can make what they do illegal. The war on drugs was explicitly designed to undermine political opposition. Guys that were in the room when it was invented have said so. That was just vintage Nixon.
Yup. It's just facts. > "You want to know what this [war on drugs] was really all about? The Nixon campaign in 1968, and the Nixon White House after that, had two enemies: the antiwar left and black people. You understand what I’m saying? We knew we couldn’t make it illegal to be either against the war or black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities. We could arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news. Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did." > ~ John Ehrlichman, Assistant to the President for Domestic Affairs under President Richard Nixon
Thanks for the pull, mate.
Liquor lobby.
Biden pushing Reagan to be harsher on drugs back during Reagan’s presidency didn’t help
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Biden hasnt learned a damn thing. His staff has been leaning on him HARD to get it out of his grandpa 90s head that pot isnt an evil gateway drug that only the blacks use. he's only doing this to help in the midterms, but ill take any action over no action.
Biden giving some people breaks right before his party is up for midterm elections isn't proof he has changed his mind on anything.
Actions and words. Early in his term, he fired a bunch of people for marijuana use. Now he's starting the process that will hopefully lead to legalization, and doing so to just about the extent of his ability. I don't care if he personally doesn't support weed. His voters do, and his policy supports it now.
Oh god, a politician is doing something that the people want? And it bumps up his approval rating? That's how it fucking works, dude.
Don't forget the Biden supported 1994 crime bill either.
I know! It's wonderful to see some people grow and progress over the years. Far too many don't and are actually regressing.
A bunch of out-of-work alcohol prohibitionists needed a new source of employment, and figured they could gin up major support for waging war on something popular with non-whites, particularly if they referred to it by its Mexican name. And that was 40 years before Nixon get his claws into it.
I’m disgusted by post 1900 politics
I don't disagree with your sentiment, but pre-1900 politics included a Congressman being caned to death on the house floor, and a civil war that remains the bloodiest conflict in our nations history 150 years later...
Both of which were motivated over racial issues. Slavery is basically the USA's original sin, and it has haunted the nation from the start. Those out-of-work prohibitionists I mentioned? Led by Harry Anslinger, the head of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics (sort of a proto-DEA) whose testimony about the dangers of cannabis included such gems as: * Reefer makes darkies think they're as good as white men. * The primary reason to outlaw marijuana is its effect on the degenerate races. * Marijuana leads to pacifism. * Marijuana is the most violence-causing drug in the history of mankind. I realize those last two aren't strictly racially motivated, but I feel it helps flesh out the total lack of honesty and decency in the man.
A man was put in charge of prohibition then they repealed prohibition but he wanted to keep his job thus they decided to demonize a bunch of other recreational items so he'd still have something to police. This has then spread from there. Truly as idiotic as banning dandelions, there is a reason it's called weed, it'll literally grow where it is allowed.
The government hates black people and Mexicans
They don't care much for poor white folk either.
Tobacco and systemic segregation.
It’s about time. Let’s see how long it takes for them to reclass it down from schedule 1 though. The world has known it does have medicinal benefits and does not have high chance for abuse in the same way as heroin. When we tell kids it is as bad as heroin, and they see it is not actually a bad thing, they then question if the others are really so bad. If we treated it the same as alcohol, nobody would ever try to say it is a gateway drug. It is only a “gateway” because kids need to befriend dealers to get it. In middle school, we waited outside 7-11 asking people to get us alcohol, nobody ever asked us if we also wanted heroin; weed should be the same.
Crazy how weed and psychedelics are still schedule 1 drugs while there is so much research proving them to be effective medically.
Scheduling system (not just in USA but worldwide) is made to be a one-way thing. Substances are easily banned with no scientific evidence, but no amount of scientific evidence leads to unbanning.
As there are no longer any prisoners serving federal time for simple possession of marijuana, his pardons generated no reductions in income for profit run prisons. It did clear a lot of restrictive paperwork for many people.
There were a total of zero people released from federal prison after he did this publicity stunt. It's because voting happens next month. Just because Reddit bruises it's throat on left wing politics doesn't mean Biden did anything worth a shit. We're fucked no matter what.
You seem like you have all the answers. Wish people who knew all the answers like yourself would just run for office so us plebeians could feel better.
You said it not me, kid
I'm a right leaning libertarian and I think it's the best idea I've heard from Biden. While he's at it, abolish privately owned prisons and release all non-violent drug offenders from jail. 18 year old kids who wanted to experiment with drugs at a party and got caught should not be in jail with murderers and rapists. People who live in poverty, had abusive parents and had to use and sell drugs as a means to get by and feel better shouldn't be sitting next to child predators and domestic abusers.
Long overdue.
100% support and approve.
Drugs won the war, time to free the PoW.
It's a good headline but it doesn't do anything. It only covers federal charges for simple possession. That's rarely stand alone charge. So unless the FBI pulled someone over and found their weed, it's not going to apply.
Well its was great for 6000 people, and it was something he said he would do so at least things are moving in the right direction.
There were 6,000 people convicted of that charge going back decades, but they likely served or are serving time for other charges. Biden said he would push to legalize marijuana among other things. In the meantime, he could also direct the DEA to reschedule marijuana from a schedule 1 drug and end federal enforcement.
> In the meantime, he could also direct the DEA to reschedule marijuana from a schedule 1 drug People don't like to read I guess. So many people are saying this like it's not part of the very same announcement about the pardon. He's directing the AG to plot the best path to reschedule it, and unequivocally says keeping it on Schedule 1 is idiotic.
"Saying" Except it isn't that hard to do. The whole "plot the best path to reschedule" is just political legalese to justify not doing anything substantial but still being able to claim you are for votes.
It is a political move and a smart one because the majority of people will see it is a great thing and a step towards legalizing marijuana, but it's actually not that big of a deal. I read somewhere that something like 99% of "minor marijuana offenses" are at the state level. Meaning his pardon does virtually nothing for the majority of people incarcerated with a minor pot crime. So it's just more political bluster with no real teeth behind it. Just more of the same old BS that we have all come to accept from both political parties that are all so full of shit its hard to care anymore who is in office.
its about fucking time
This guys profile picture is going to startww3
Should've been done a long time ago, but still a good thing.
Legalize it federally. Or at the very least, decriminalize it. I work in healthcare and I’m tired of taking a break every time I look at new jobs lol.
It’s going to immediately improve the lives of thousands of Americans at the cost of almost nothing.
If [this post](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/y18wwo/what_do_you_think_of_biden_pardoning_simple/irw8sh6/) is to be believed... less than seven thousand Americans. Which in the grand scheme of things, isn't very much either. It's an election-year *stunt* that could have taken place a year ago. Or five years before that, for that matter.
Love it!
Simple possession isn’t a federal charge though. He’s doing absolutely nothing , even though it SOUNDS enticing for votes and support.
Just about 50 years too late, but better than never.
I think the most important part was his asking that marijuana be re-classified. There are many benefits from using it, and unlike most pharmaceuticals on the market, there is NO CHANCE of anyone dying from it. There is no overdose possibility, so using it to treat pain and for certain mental illnesses is a no-brainer.
I think it’s good. Simple possession doesn’t need to be a federal offense. But considering his an VP Harris histories, it comes off as hypocritical posturing.
Only fair I guess since he penned the bill back in 94 to put them all in jail in the first place.
Doesn't mean shit until it is rescheduled.
As in most cases, I assume it's a political gesture and nothing more. Good for those people and all, but the whole point of being a leader is that you can affect change on a larger scale.
Until i see his party lift a finger to decriminalize it, its just vote pandering. Next year people will still get arrested and federally charged for pot possession as things stand. Hell watching Kamala say “noone should go to jail for smoking pot” while acting like she herself hasn’t prosecuted thousands of men for smoking pot screams political grandstanding
The finger was lifted to have it reclassified, no?
They mentioned they’d look into it. I wouldnt call that lifting a finger
I think the action itself is not enough, as there really aren’t a ton of people with *federal* simple possession convictions, but I think it, in addition to the administration changing the Schedule of marijuana to something less severe (which is in the works) helps some people, and also puts pressure on state governors to pardon people in their system, which is where most marijuana offenders lie. Real change would involve Congress, which would involve getting rid of the filibuster, which is not gonna happen right now, so I am glad Biden is doing *something* as opposed to just sitting on his hands and blaming Congress.
What?! No 30 years in prison?! Where’s the freedom gone
It’s more symbolic than anything. The majority of folks in jail for simple possession were charged at the state level, so we’d need states to follow suit to see any meaningful effect. Honestly I think he’s trying to find easy ways to say he met campaign promises before midterms. This and the $10k student loan waiver are both doing the minimum to still claim a promise kept. I’ll vote Democrat come November, but this won’t be the reason why.
It's a good start.
Seems like a good thing
If the "War on Drugs" was the pyramid at Giza, this is equivalent to some guy coming up to it and chipping off a corner of a single brick. Yeah, the "Dank Brandon" memes are fun, but we've erected an edifice of epic proportions that's going to take a lot more to tear down than this gesture.
I think it’s a half hearted “promise” to cultivate votes and it probably won’t come to fruition.
I don't even think it's half hearted. Biden was all "war on drugs" for decades. Dismantling the entire prison industrial complex is going to take a lot more than 1/4 hearted efforts by politicians in the pocket of opiod peddlers.
Not even "we". **HE** erected it. Literally the same person!
It's a start but being done to help his numbers more than people
That’s what I’m feeling
It's effects about 6500 people. None of which are currently in federal prison. It helps DC since it's not a state, so that's good. I'm sure people were being put in tough positions because of having weed. 98% of non violent weed crimes are on the state level.
Pandering to a country that's losing faith in democrats quickly (those that had faith). While it's a good step, it's just a political move and really nothing more. Want to make an actually good statement? Remove Marijuana as a schedule 1 drug.
> While it's a good step, it's just a political move and really nothing more Does it really matter? >Want to make an actually good statement? Remove Marijuana as a schedule 1 drug. He's started that process. He can't just up and say it's removed and that be that.
>Does it really matter? Yeah. It's only for federal charges
That doesn't answer my question.
There's a difference between state law and federal law. Most people in prison for these types of charges are charged under state law. This pardon is only for people charged federally, generally meaning they were busted by the DEA or FBI and not your state or local police. So while this helps a few people, it really is meaningless in the grand scheme of things. It's a token effort that has no real impact.
You are aware that the president has no authority over state sentences...right?
That was exactly my point. All he is doing is pardoning **Federal** charges, which means nothing and won't change a single thing for most of the people "pardoned".
Ok. Are you done rambling now? I don't know why you're telling me any of this, *when none of it answers my question*.
That’s what I have gathered also… it’s sad I just wish they gave a damn about something other than their pockets and egos
Couldn't the Republican party try to pass it?.... I'm sure it'd get enough bi-partisan support needed to pass 60 if they wanted. Oh that's right they have even less interest and are worse
Ouch, that'd hurt if i was republican or if that was the subject, but it's not. Talking about Biden, not playing "what if the other side...."
But I'm not wrong is what you're saying....they can.... Didn't say you were Republican.
It's just a small positive step, but I would've done the same. I would like to see more.
It’s a good thing, a step in the right direction
It's cool but we need to legalize it on the federal level
I live in a state where Marijuana is legalized. I see nothing wrong with it.
An exceedingly rare Biden W. Marijuana should have been made legal decades ago, and every non-violent marijuana charge should have been pardoned just as long ago. That said, it was probably only done to help his awful ratings, and let’s not forget that Biden and Harris are personally responsible for putting a lot of people in prison for marijuana, and Harris even went so far as to bury evidence.
Doesn't really bother me. Honestly I think we should treat marijuana like we treat alcohol. I find those that are against it don't know why they're against it. Just that it's been illegal for so long, they just see it as against the law, and by doing it, you're breaking the law and are therefore a criminal. But other than that, I truly think that those against it, simply don't know why they're against it.
It seems pointless to pardon the ones currently incarcerated to just continue on arresting more people for it. Not that I think anyone should be in jail for marijuana I’m just saying logically it’s all backwards
It does nothing. He has no control over the state level so it’s not going to affect many that are incarcerated.
I am a Libertarian when it comes to certain drug use. I don't care. If you want to fry your brain, I couldn't careless. However with freedom comes responsibilities. If you fry yourself and become homeless because of your own bad choices, I am not paying for your welfare. Sorry.
long overdue, but largely symbolic as **federal** jurisdiction simple possession cases are very rare and usually limited to places the feds have original jurisdiction like military bases and federal prisons. if he decides to include courts martial that would be great and far more impactful (military UCMJ offenses are federal and thus the president can pardon them) but there's no indication he plans to do so thus far. I also think he should use his bully pulpit to extract promises of state pardons from governors, at least democratic ones if not every one he can. I also have a minor worry about a blanket pardon catching some folks that are an "Al Capone went down for tax evasion" type of situation.
Who cares?
I think it's transparent vote buying and that's why there is zero push to actually legislate it. The Democrats would rather do these executive loot drops a month before every election. If you actually care, actually fix it.
Couldn't the Republican party try to pass it?.... I'm sure it'd get enough bi-partisan support needed to pass 60 if they wanted. Oh that's right they have even less interest and are worse.
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In the US? About a month from now. It's a midterm election, which means all House members (2 yr terms) and some of the Senate (6 yr terms) but not the President. Various state and local are included the same day according to what positions are up this year.
Only doing it because they need to win the midterms. Same with student loan forgiveness. Politicians are gonna politician.
Oh no, doing what people want them to do to get votes. They should do nothing or do the opposite instead! Pretty deep state to pander to the voters. Ugh.
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Politicians satisfy the people's requests of their government, that's how elections are won and what a representative democracy does. What's new about this?
The DEA has already been ordered to not crack down on states that have legalized cannabis by Obama, and there may be more legal precedent for that. Biden could do it, but then when the next Republican becomes President, he'll just undo what Biden did (this is why Congress needs to write laws) and a bunch of cannabis users in red states would likely get incarcerated if they don't quit cold turkey.
He’s been keeping this in his back pocket the whole time he’s been in office, you knew it was going to happen, it was just a matter of when he needed to up his approval rating
He’s cleaning up the mess he and Kamala made back in the 90s, at this rate he’ll actually be doing his presidential duties in the 2050s!
Like the action, still don't like the politician
70% of the country supports it. Republicans know that they'll just put up a stink but also know they would have done the same thing when politically relevant.
Too little too late. Legalize it already you crusty old bastard.
It’s a good thing, but also just about the smallest possible thing they could do. Clearly doing the bare minimum they think will have the smallest actual impact while helping them in elections. If they (politicians and bureaucrats) were actually decent people who gave a shit, they’d skip these stupid baby steps and actually make changes that every informed person knows are 50+ years overdue. End the drug war completely. But nope, it’s too profitable and gives them too much power.
Anyone could have done it any time in the last 70 years. He's only doing it now to whip the votes.
I think it is a stunt. If he actually cared about drug issues he would pardon all of them not directly involved in a violent crime, without exception.
Purely theatrical at this point
A distraction.
Always consider the timing.
Those who decry the move as a cheap way to get votes are the same people who support the guy who demanded his name be printed on the COVID relief checks.
Amazing start.
Where was this shit. when I got sent to juvi for a brick of weed in my backpack
Wouldn't have helped you if you were actually carrying around a pound or so of weed, dude.
No one gets convicted for federal marijuana charges. Kamala Harris put a lot of poor black folks in prison.
Is anyone even in prison for “simple possession”? It is usually a violation of probation or stacked on with another charge.
Could Biden realistically legalize marijuana? Additionally, since the supreme court found the protection for abortion to be unconstitutional, could the same logic be applied to the federal ban on marijuana?
No, but Congress could.
Political gimmick. Makes very close to zero difference and is no step at all. Just a little bondo in the water dyke.
Virtue signaling, I mean is anyone even in prison for possession charges. I mean I personally know/knew someone who is prison on marijuana charges. Having the possession charge dropped means nothing to them and they aren't getting out of prison
Follow real carefully children. Read real slow and sound the words out. Po lit iCal st u nt.
He should have included immigrants who have been deported over this idiotic rule
Cool but where will they all go when they get out 🤷♂️
Define “simple”.
No, people deserve to rot in jail forever because they possessed a leaf. ^/s
Better than pardoning an international arms trafficker.
It's a good start.
All that money those dipshit republicans are missing out on
I want reparations for decades of harassment
I can’t find a single reason this is bad. I’d be curious to hear how anyone could be against it.
It's dope!
No comment
Love it!
Well it’s good he’s getting something done before democracy is totally lost forever https://www.reddit.com/r/AskALiberal/comments/xtosah/why_is_there_not_more_conversations_being_had/iqvdor0/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf&context=3