John Fetterman Thanks Biden For Pardoning 'Bulls--t Weed Charges,' Advocates Less Passionate But Pleased

Following President Joe Biden’s Friday announcement that he is pardoning thousands of people convicted of use and/or simple possession of marijuana on federal lands and in the District of Columbia, Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) thanked the president, calling the cannabis convictions “bullshit weed charges.”

“A few Christmases ago, as Lieutenant Governor, I pushed for legal weed and delivering pardons for bullshit weed charges. As a Senate candidate, I personally asked @POTUS to de-schedule cannabis and pardon those charges,” Fetterman said on Twitter/X. “This Christmas, as a Senator, THANK YOU @POTUS,” reported The Hill.

What Happened

The Biden pardons target "additional offenses of simple possession and use of marijuana under federal and D.C. law," the White House said in a statement.

The proclamation includes offenses related to "use and possession on certain Federal lands," provisions that were not covered by Biden’s October 2022 pardon of some 6,500 federal cannabis prisoners.

“Just as no one should be in a federal prison solely due to the use or possession of marijuana, no one should be in a local jail or state prison for that reason, either,” Biden said.

“That’s why I continue to urge Governors to do the same with regard to state offenses and applaud those who have since taken action.”

Cannabis Advocates Respond

The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) noted that Biden’s pardons generally apply to those with federal cannabis convictions, though the overwhelming majority of marijuana-related arrests and convictions occur at the state level.

Over the last several years, as cannabis has become legal in dozens of states, lawmakers have undertaken legislation to facilitate the expungement of cannabis convictions.

State and local officials have issued approximately 100,000 marijuana-related pardons and more than 2.3 million marijuana-related expungements since 2018, according to NORML data.

That said, "Millions of Americans carry the burden and stigma of a past conviction for behavior that the majority of voters no longer believe should be a crime," said NORML’s deputy director Paul Armentano.

"Our sense of justice and our principles of fairness demand that public officials and the courts move swiftly to right the past wrongs of cannabis prohibition and criminalization.”

Sarah Gersten, executive director of the Last Prisoner Project, called Biden’s move progress, but not enough.

"While this is progress for those eligible for relief, these pardons and commutations are not enough to achieve true cannabis justice. As we have said before, pardons do not remove the needless barriers to employment, housing, and educational opportunities the President has rightfully acknowledged, nor does it release anyone still in prison."

Image: Benzinga edit with photo by Peter Pike at Pixabay and Wikimedia Commons.