President Biden once again highlighted his move from last year, which pardoned federal convictions for simple cannabis possession offenses, at a Congressional Black Caucus Foundation awards ceremony.
The speech at the event was the latest instance of the president promoting the cannabis clemency decision as one of his achievements in criminal justice reform. Award recipients included White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, LA Mayor Karen Bass, Minority House Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Tennessee State Rep. Justin Jones, and rappers LL Cool J and MC Lyte.
Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris made appearances midway through the ceremony. Following several comments, including how the “collective strength to form the Congressional Black Caucus” forced America to see that “we are all created equal,” the president focused on cannabis legalization
“I’m keeping my promise that no one—no one—should be in jail merely for the use or possession of marijuana. God Almighty,” Biden said. “And those who are in jail, they’re going to be released and the records are going to be expunged.”
Biden was referencing his October 2022 pardon for all prior federal offenses of simple cannabis possession, though it was somewhat overstated, as it only affected around 6,500 individuals who have yet to be released from federal prison. Pardons restore civil rights lost due to felony convictions, but only if the cannabis charge was the only felony on their record. However, pardons can’t erase convictions from a person’s record, but expungement can.
“As far as bold acts of mass clemency go, it won’t lead to many people getting out of prison. In fact, it will lead to none,” the Sentencing Project wrote at the time.
The pardon also only applies to citizens and lawful permanent residents, to the frustration of many immigrants’ rights advocates. Other groups, like those who have been charged with selling cannabis, were also excluded from the presidential pardon. Moreover, the move feels underwhelming to many pro-cannabis advocates, as Biden pledged throughout his campaign to decriminalize cannabis and legalize medical cannabis.
The White House cited the mass pardon, and Biden’s directive to reschedule cannabis, recently as part of its “Fight for Our Freedom” campaign to “mobilize young people” for the 2024 election. In April, he issued a proclamation declaring the month “Second Chance Month,” as a recommitment to help people “forge the new beginnings they have earned and [build] a safer and more just society,” where he also mentioned his pardon.
In February, the White House released a fact sheet, similarly nodding to the pardons as a means to lift social and economic barriers. The fact sheet was released as the month came to a close, which also had Biden speaking at a Black History Month event where he, once again, referenced his move to pardon federal simple possession offenses.
While Biden has fallen short of decriminalizing cannabis and legalizing medical cannabis, and many believe that the descheduling of cannabis isn’t enough or may be too little too late, his administration is repeatedly leveraging his reform actions—likely in an effort to appeal to progressive voters ahead of next year’s elections.
Cannabis reform wasn’t the only reason Biden made headlines at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s annual Legislative Conference over the weekend.
After previously telling Black voters “You ain’t Black” if you don’t vote for him, which was similarly met with resistance and eventually led to an apology, he initially called rapper LL Cool J “LL J Cool J.” He carried on with an additional flub, calling the rapper “boy” before quickly correcting to “man,” TMZ reports.
“By the way that boy — that man’s got biceps bigger than my thighs,” he said. While some of his blunders in the past have been attributed to his age, many pointed out that Biden is old enough to know that “boy” is a racist term used to disparage Black men.
Biden has yet to share comments on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) rescheduling recommendation, though the White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said last month that Biden has been “very clear” that he’s “always supported the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes.”
