Lawmakers and advocates urge President Biden to grant cannabis clemency

Ask your member of Congress to sign on to the Blumenauer-Lee clemency letter.

Yesterday, in a Presidents Day push, Congressional Cannabis Caucus co-chairs, Reps. Earl Blumenauer and Barbara Lee, announced they are sending a formal letter to the Biden administration requesting mass clemency for people with non-violent federal cannabis convictions. You can read the full letter here.

Joining the lawmakers in the call for mass clemency are several cannabis advocacy organizations and industry associations, including MPP, the newly formed U.S. Cannabis Council, the Minority Cannabis Business Association, NORML, and the National Cannabis Industry Association, among others.

On the campaign trail, Biden pledged to prioritize criminal justice reform and committed that he would automatically expunge all past marijuana convictions for use and possession. Now it’s time for President Biden to make good on his campaign promises.

Ask your member of Congress to sign on to the letter urging President Biden to grant cannabis clemency!

A cannabis conviction comes with a host of collateral consequences that can hamper a person’s ability to obtain housing, jobs, and educational opportunities. On top of that, because of unequal enforcement, a disproportionate number of people who enter the criminal justice system due to cannabis-related activity are people of color. A general pardon of all non-violent federal cannabis offenders would be the kind of action that would signal to historically marginalized communities that their suffering is seen — and that the administration seeks to meaningfully address their plight.

By issuing this general cannabis pardon, President Biden could be a leader on criminal justice reform, while providing immediate relief to thousands of Americans.

Again, please ask your Congressional representative to sign on to the clemency letter today, and share this with your social networks.