Medical cannabis and retail markets are thriving in several states. However, there are thousands of individuals still incarcerated for cannabis, many for things that would be legal under current laws. During his campaign for the presidency, Joe Biden stated that “no one should be in jail because of cannabis use.” Additionally, he said that if elected President, he would “decriminalize cannabis use and automatically expunge prior convictions.”

No Action Being Taken

However, to date, he has not done any of the above. On April 26th, 2022, he did, however, finally put his clemency powers to use for good, providing commutation of sentencing or pardoning for 78 individuals. Prior to this, Biden had only provided Presidential pardons to turkeys on Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, among these 78 individuals, only nine were incarcerated on charges related to marijuana. The Executive Director of NORML, Eric Altieri, stated the following regarding this matter in an official NORML press release;

“While granting clemency to nine individuals for federal marijuana offenses is the right thing to do, it is woefully inadequate when there remain over 10,000 individuals who still suffer under the weight of a federal charge on their criminal record. It is well past the time for President Biden to make good on his campaign promise to expunge the records of all federal marijuana offenders and prove that justice isn’t just a buzzword he uses to gain votes during election season.”

Altieri isn’t the only one that disapproves of the inaction taken by President Biden in regard to staying true to his words. A recent poll conducted by YouGov.com found that 60% of Americans believe that his inactions would remain consistent and believed that it was doubtful that he would make any effort towards advancing cannabis-related reform in 2022 whatsoever. 

Despite Having the Power No Action By Biden Regarding Retail or Medical Cannabis Reform

The President and the Biden administration as a whole, like administrations before them, have been urged by advocates, patients, activists, and their fellow politicians to act in this arena and release cannabis offenders as well as expunge previous convictions. This is concerning considering how 70% of Americans support the expungement of cannabis-related convictions for non-violent offenses. So, one may ask themselves, what can the President and/or their administration do about it? Well, according to the Congressional Research Services (CRS), the President has the power to grant mass pardons and the power to federally legalize cannabis without the need for action by lawmakers.

While it is undeniable that the Biden administration could do much more concerning the reform of cannabis and releasing non-violent cannabis offenders, we still must celebrate the eight individuals who had their cannabis-related sentences commutated and the one cannabis offender who received a full presidential pardon! Let’s take a closer look!

An Elevated Cannabis Pardon

Among the individuals that received a Presidential pardon from President Biden is an individual by the name of Dexter Eugene Jackson. This 52-year-old was convicted on charges in 2002. Confessing and taking full responsibility for his actions, he admitted to allowing drug traffickers to use his business to facilitate the distribution of cannabis in the state of Georgia. While he did not personally sell, traffic, or otherwise distribute marijuana; his pool hall was utilized to do just that.

Dexter served time in prison on charges related to this but has since been released and has been filing for clemency since the Obama Administration with no success. Since his release, he has converted his pool hall into a cell phone repair service and has become very involved in his community. In fact, his business employs local high school students through a program that provides work experience and other resources to young adults in the area. He has also worked within the community to help renovate and build housing! Congratulations Dexter!

Presidential Sentence Commutations – A Closer Look

The following individuals had their sentences commuted by recent actions taken by the Biden Administration.

  • Jose Luis Colunga of  Juniata, Nebraska, was convicted and charged with “conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute 1,000 kilograms or more of marijuana” in Tennessee and was sentenced to 240 months of imprisonment with a  10-year term of supervised release.
  • Stacie Demers of Constable, New York, was convicted and charged with “conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana; aiding and abetting the possession with intent to distribute marijuana” in the state of New York and was sentenced to 120 months of imprisonment with a five-year term of supervised release.
  • Carry Le of Duluth, Georgia, was convicted and charged with “conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 1,000 or more marijuana plants” in the state of Texas. She was sentenced to 120 months in prison and five years of supervised release.
  • Quang Nguyen of Houston, Texas, was convicted and charged with “conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 1,000 or more marijuana plants” in the state of Texas. He received a 120-month prison sentence and five years of supervised release.
  • Fermin Serna of Rio Grande City, Texas, was charged and convicted of “conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute in excess of 1,000 kilograms of marijuana, a schedule I controlled substance” in the state of Texas. He was sentenced to 240 months in prison and ten years of supervised release.

Additionally, Ramola Kaye Brown, Christopher Gunter, and Paul A. Lupercio also had their cannabis-related sentences commuted under the recent actions by President Biden. Let’s take a moment to celebrate their second chances and release from incarceration.

Additional Moves with Benefits to Cannabis Offenders

In addition to the commutation of sentences and pardoning provided to the individuals mentioned above, the Biden administration also made moves to help formerly incarcerated individuals through resources such as job training, grants, access to capital, housing, education, health care, and more. These are all things that those with criminal charges on their record for cannabis will tell you are hard to access post-conviction. It is great to see actions being taken, but this is far from what needs to be done. It is time that people are made to live up to their promises, especially when it is the President or other elected representatives. It is time that the “leaders” of this nation take action and give their constituents what they desire, and that is the legalization of medical cannabis.

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