Biden Pardons Thousands of People Convicted of Marijuana Possession Under Federal Law

Submitted by Azr431 t3_xxeomo in newhampshire

>President Biden on Thursday pardoned all people convicted of marijuana possession under federal law and said his administration would review whether marijuana should still be a Class 1 drug like heroin and LSD.
>
>The pardons will clear about 6,500 people who were convicted on federal charges of simple possession of marijuana from 1992 to 2021 and thousands more who were convicted of possession in the District of Columbia, officials said. Officials said the president would urge governors to follow his lead for people convicted on state charges of possession.

NYT article

Alright Gov. Sununu, your move. You've been waiting for the Feds to lead, now they have. The least you can do is offer the same pardons for state convictions and charges.

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Comments

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Kv603 t1_irc328v wrote

> Alright Gov. Sununu, your move. You've been waiting for the Feds to lead, now they have. The least you can do is offer the same pardons for state convictions and charges.

As I recall, Sununu signed HB 399, doing basically the same thing, way back in 2019.

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Azr431 OP t1_ircp78m wrote

Good point, although 399 was narrower in scope and it’s not really decriminalized since you still get fined and can eventually be charged with a misdemeanor.

The real goal is to legalize it and he’s been dragging his feet “cause the feds”

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RickyDaytonaJr t1_irboygn wrote

Personally, I don’t really care about marijuana, but this should have been done a long time ago…and we shouldn’t be wasting federal resources enforcing marijuana as a Class 1 drug.

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Fuzzy-Scar3055 t1_irbz63x wrote

Biden must be getting desperate to actually, possibly, come through with a campaign promise of decriminalizing cannabis. And of course it’s good that he’s removing criminal records over it. I approve.

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CobaltRose800 t1_ircj1mn wrote

Would us lemmings have remembered if he had done it in his first week of office? "What have you done for me lately" mentality is a bitch.

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pleasedonthitmymazda t1_irq08a9 wrote

>biden ends the war in afghanistan

conservatives: no wait, not like that!

>biden pushes for legal marijuana

conservatives: no wait, not like that!

​

​

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Fuzzy-Scar3055 t1_irrdj04 wrote

You have a point about Afghanistan.

Lol he’s not pushing for marijuana legalization. Literally no one is in federal prison for marijuana possession alone. This pardon frees no one. There are people in prison for other things that also have marijuana charges that the feds tacked on.

We probably won’t even see marijuana rescheduled—it’s not within Biden’s power to do so. If we did that would be a big deal.

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DeerFlyHater t1_irc2359 wrote

Wake me up when something passes the bodies that actually create laws like the US House or Senate.

It is long past time that it was federally legal.

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itsMalarky t1_iria2g7 wrote

Same. And maybe then I'll start looking at all my sad sad weed stocks again

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littleirishmaid t1_irbo1ox wrote

Midterms are just weeks away.

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smartest_kobold t1_irbqnnh wrote

It's called politics

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littleirishmaid t1_irbr38l wrote

Its called desperation, in this case..

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AnalogRobber t1_irbu6hw wrote

It's called doing what his party has been asking him to do

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DeerFlyHater t1_irc2e0p wrote

Shit, both parties have been asking for legalization. Neither of them have done anything about it where it matters.

Pardoning after a conviction is just blowing the topic a kiss.

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AnalogRobber t1_irc9wjw wrote

I mean it's releasing real people from jail and they're starting the process of rescheduling, I would't exactly call it a kiss more so a viable path towards legalization which is now definitely coming. And sure, the American public on both sides want legalization but Republicans in government would never vote for it.

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DeerFlyHater t1_ircuclu wrote

> And sure, the American public on both sides want legalization but Republicans in government would never vote for it.

Look up who sponsored the legal weed bill that made it out of the NH house last year. Was it a perfect bill-heck no. It was the dumb liquor store model, but Abbas sponsored it and pushed it through.

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AnalogRobber t1_ircwat2 wrote

Our Republican governor has vetoed every weed bill he's recieved and Republicans on a national scale will never legalize if they have control of the house/senate/presidency

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DeerFlyHater t1_irga379 wrote

> Our Republican governor has vetoed every weed bill he's recieved

Bill #s and years so I can look them up on the GC site please

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glockster19m t1_irci2bm wrote

The voters of both parties to be more accurate

Republican voters overall support legalization however their reps don't, and for many voters it's in no way a swing issue

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DeerFlyHater t1_ircu2zd wrote

The only weed bill to get past the house last year was by Abbas(an R)

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mod-corruption t1_irbsqsj wrote

I wish weed possession would be decriminalized for the sake of it being a non-violent, victimless crime… but here we are. If it’s being done as a blatant political strategy to win votes, I’m fine with that. Whatever gets it decriminalized and legalized. Fuck the feds.

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Kv603 t1_irc3tnp wrote

> I wish weed possession would be decriminalized

New Hampshire decriminalized weed (and pardoned many convictions) years ago.

Sununu signed decriminalization in 2017 and annulment in 2019, so those bills (unlike Biden's gesture here) weren't even done in an election year.

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ninjamansidekick t1_irbvcou wrote

He will have a much harder time reversing this in December than the student loan thing.

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Beginning-File-6490 t1_irf3gkb wrote

Timing is everything. Especially for Democrats and midterms.

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MiggySmalls6767 t1_irccwsr wrote

This is why you vote for quality people. Shit actually gets done. Biden dropping his size 9 cock on every Fox News talking head complaining about things that don’t matter lol

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vexingsilence t1_irbxbhw wrote

They really should change the law before pardoning anyone. This sends a mixed message that it's okay to break the law. Obviously, it's team Biden trying to get every vote they possibly can and has nothing to do with whether or not marijuana should be legalized.

Meanwhile, the prices for things like epi-pens, asthma inhalers, insulin, and narcan are all still insanely high with the pharmas abusing the patent system and the FDA approval process to stifle any attempts at competition. This is where they should focus, not on a recreational drug. Save lives first, entertainment second.

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MethBearBestBear t1_iredyb5 wrote

The inflation reduction act caps insulin at $35 a month for Medicare. You can't do a lot to reign in private business in America all at once and tell private companies they have to sell for only X dollars so Medicare and Medicaid is the first step toward progress. States are pushing for cost caps and as for the FDA while they move slow it is because these are medical products and getting something wrong is many lives. As someone who is regulated by the FDA they can be a pain in the ass but they are needed

More needs to be done but if you are calling someone out at least call them out on it correctly

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vexingsilence t1_irf297b wrote

Cost caps aren't a fix. How about we legalize things like albuterol? Asthmatics know what works for them. You can use the same thing for decades but still have to juggle prescriptions and insurance, versus just being able to buy it over the counter.

They shouldn't be able to make a trivial alteration to a medication to extend its patent protection. I've read of cases where they combine two drugs and patent it. How is that useful? If you could take them separately, that's not a new invention or an enhancement to an existing one. That's something that patients would have already been doing on their own, if anything, the patent should be theirs.

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ZacPetkanas t1_irff6xp wrote

> How about we legalize things like albuterol?

I'd even be OK with the idea that a prescription requirement has a sunset per patient (OK, maybe too much overhead to work). If I've been taking a medication for a decade, I think it's pretty clear that my body tolerates it and that it's having the desired effect. Why do I have to keep getting a prescription for it? Especially those drugs that have no recreational use. Huff all the Albuterol you want, you're not going to get high.

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HowardNelsonJr t1_iremtmj wrote

Been in office almost 2 years. Does this right before the midterms.

Straight up dementia patient too

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VenserSojo t1_ircmasr wrote

Biden has the authority to change its drug scheduling so why doesn't he do that?

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Azr431 OP t1_ircmrev wrote

He does not

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GreatGrandaddyPurp t1_ircutae wrote

He does. It could be changed immediately through executive order. Presidents in the past have had mixed feelings on using executive orders to do so but the power unquestionably exists.

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VenserSojo t1_irco0r2 wrote

Its the DEA whom he picks the head of and directs via the DOJ, its not as simple as an executive order but he has the ability to pick leadership who will do as he wishes and re-pick if needed.

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SkiingAway t1_irfwqet wrote

He directed them to examine re-scheduling it. That's about as close as he can get to an order, and I imagine they will probably do it/go through the process to do it.

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turnwrench t1_irc3t6i wrote

Senile old man does what someone else tells him to do for personal gain. His decision helps less than 20k people while he continues to fuck the entire rest of the country / world. The downvote button is right there.

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Clamd t1_irc7f2k wrote

Lick the boots harder bud. They're still oh so dirty.

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turnwrench t1_irc7st3 wrote

You got the wrong guy. You took that completely wrong. I'm just saying that the potential good he talks about doing is nothing in the face of all he's fucked up. I think weed should've been legal all along.

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Nevaknosbest t1_ircb5vy wrote

Hmm, I bet anyone getting ready to walk out of jail would disagree with you.

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MiggySmalls6767 t1_irccov9 wrote

What has he fucked up?

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[deleted] t1_ircijal wrote

[removed]

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MiggySmalls6767 t1_ircsol1 wrote

Lol imagine complaining about people changing their minds, learning from their mistakes and fixing them when they are in the position to 😂

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[deleted] t1_ireejyz wrote

[deleted]

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MiggySmalls6767 t1_irees0h wrote

Literally changing tens of thousands of lives, directly, right now lol. Y’all are the worst 😂. Someone could cure cancer and y’all would be like “yeah but what about Alzheimer’s huh?”😂

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[deleted] t1_ireipbt wrote

[deleted]

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MiggySmalls6767 t1_ireirnu wrote

I think perhaps you’re just a bit of a twat?

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turnwrench t1_ireyckr wrote

You must be one of those "tolerant democrats" that we hear so much about.

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MiggySmalls6767 t1_ireyett wrote

I’m not. I don’t tolerate conservative twats. We have been far too accepting of cunts in this country. Hence why we got a cunt like Trump in the White House.

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turnwrench t1_ireyl1e wrote

Awww. Show me on the Ken doll where they touched you.

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[deleted] t1_ireyp4d wrote

[removed]

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TacoLoco2 t1_irehj50 wrote

Hey man, don’t let these losers playing on Reddit get you down. They want anarchy and would be the first ones to cry when they get taken advantage of. I’m with you. 👊🏼

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TacoLoco2 t1_ircd8w8 wrote

Also done right before the midterm elections. Changes little, but pro-legalization polling states will see this in ads…watch. 👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽 this old kook

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Clamd t1_ircyqf8 wrote

I love that the best Republicans can do is "wow look at that guy doing things the US people want! Clearly it's just for votes so they can still do the things the population wants". Y'all are pathetic.

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TacoLoco2 t1_irehddd wrote

Reddit is filled with Libs because the republicans are out working their asses off and don’t have time to downvote people on Reddit.

Also, you’re dumb. Biden isn’t doing what people want. People want full legalization. He’s tricked you into thinking the crumbs he’s throwing you are a gourmet meal. Biden hates you. Democrats hate you. Just as much as republicans do. There are no good politicians. You’re a fool If you think otherwise

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z-eldapin t1_irg79mj wrote

Yet, here you are...

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TacoLoco2 t1_irgp0v2 wrote

Yup. I’m here. I’m open minded. I don’t claim one side or the other. I think all politicians hate us. I think anyone who thinks otherwise is a fool. I think people who play video games and comment on Reddit are losers. I also think Reddit is filled with tons of great information. So go ahead and continue to be a fat, judgemental, lonely human who blames others on Reddit for their lack of happiness. I won’t judge…

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z-eldapin t1_irgtjqa wrote

You literally said Republicans are busy working and have no time to be on Reddit. Anyone can infer that you think the opposite of Democrats. By posting that, you literally contradicted yourself.

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Clamd t1_ireijhn wrote

What a sad angry life you live. I feel bad for you.

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TacoLoco2 t1_irevu50 wrote

This is what people like you do. Judge. Even though you don’t want people judging. You think it’s okay as long as you get to do it. Go start a business some time and see how many different taxes you pay…and shitty employees who treat a small business owner like Starbucks. Everyone wants something for nothing and no political party has it right. You demonize those you don’t agree with yet have no understanding of, or willingness to understand. I live a sad life?? Nah, I’m an adult and expect nothing from anyone. What’s your excuse? Your parents messed you up making you think you matter. You don’t. No politician cares about you and if you think Biden did this out of the kindness of his heart, you’re a fool

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Clamd t1_irf7e4i wrote

Ok snowflake.

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TacoLoco2 t1_irg3nh5 wrote

Lol, do you even know what that means? Go play your video games.

Incel

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The_Devilz_Advocate t1_isekwme wrote

🤣 As a “Lib” that works full time, has a second job on top of that AND is in college…. I think you’re wrong 🤔🤔

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