Vice President Kamala Harris said Saturday the administration is "changing" the system of justice when Biden pardoned those convicted of marijuana crimes because "nobody should have to go to jail for smoking weed."
"And speaking of the system of justice, we are also changing — y'all might have heard that this week — the federal government's approach to marijuana," Harris said during a keynote address at the 2022 Texas Democratic Party Johnson-Jordan Reception at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Austin, Texas. "Because the bottom line there is: Nobody should have to go to jail for smoking weed."
Biden issued a proclamation Oct. 6 that pardoned all people convicted of simple marijuana possession under federal law, and said he is reviewing how the drug is scheduled in the Controlled Dangerous Substances Act.
"As I often said during my campaign for president, no one should be in jail just for using or possessing marijuana," Biden said. "Sending people to prison for possessing marijuana has upended too many lives and incarcerated people for conduct that many states no longer prohibit. Criminal records for marijuana possession have also imposed needless barriers to employment, housing, and educational opportunities. And while white and Black and brown people use marijuana at similar rates, Black and brown people have been arrested, prosecuted, and convicted at disproportionate rates."
The pardon could impact thousands of Americans with the federal convictions who have been denied housing employment, or educational opportunities a senior administration official said on a call with reporters Oct. 6.
"In terms of the administration of the pardons, the Justice Department will create an administrative process for pardoned individuals to obtain a certificate of pardon so that they will have documentation that they can show to law enforcement employers and others as needed," the official said. "We estimate that over 6,500 people with prior federal convictions for simple possession of marijuana and thousands of such convictions under D.C. law could benefit from this relief."
In a post on Twitter from 2019, Harris said people of color were hardest hit by the "War on Drugs."
"There's no question that people of color continue to be hit the hardest by the failed War on Drugs," her post read. "Enough. It's time we passed my bill to legalize marijuana and expand opportunities for communities of color."
Administration officials said there are no current federal inmates serving time for the simple possession charge.
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