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

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

46% : "Sending people to jail for possessing marijuana has upended too many lives -- for conduct that is legal in many states," Mr. Biden said on Twitter on Thursday.
44% :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 ahead of the president's announcement.
44% : But the president's executive actions move the federal government in the direction of the positions taken by some state governments, which have already reduced or eliminated the criminal punishments for simply possessing marijuana -- punishments that for decades have sent people to jail.
40% : "That's trying to change a policy decision that was made that marijuana is as dangerous as these other drugs, which we know is not true," Ms. Chettiar said.
39% : Marijuana is already fully legal in about 20 states, and some other states have relaxed criminal penalties, according to DISA, a large drug-testing company that tracks state laws regarding marijuana.
35% : Udi Ofer, a Princeton University professor and former deputy national political director of the American Civil Liberties Union, said simple possession of marijuana is a crime "almost entirely prosecuted by the states."
29% : WASHINGTON -- 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 Schedule 1 drug like heroin and LSD, saying that "makes no sense."
27% : Mr. Biden stopped short of calling for the complete decriminalization of marijuana -- something that Congress would have to do -- and said that the federal government still needs "important limitations on trafficking, marketing, and underage sales of marijuana."

*Our bias meter rating uses data science including sentiment analysis, machine learning and our proprietary algorithm for determining biases in news articles. Bias scores are on a scale of -100% to 100% with higher negative scores being more liberal and higher positive scores being more conservative, and 0% being neutral. The rating is an independent analysis and is not affiliated nor sponsored by the news source or any other organization.