Lee, Lawmakers Seek Additional Progress on Federal Marijuana Law Before End of Biden Administration
WASHINGTON – U.S. Representatives Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), and Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), alongside Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), led lawmakers in sending a bicameral letter to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, urging the administration to make further progress on federal marijuana law before the end of the administration. The lawmakers applauded the historic steps the administration has taken to lessen the harms of marijuana criminalization and pushed the administration to take additional steps before the end of its term, including issuing another round of clemency and an updated memorandum on prosecutorial discretion for marijuana offenses.
“Rescheduling marijuana and the prior round of pardons must not be the end of this Administration’s historic work to use its executive authority to undo the damage of federal marijuana policy,” wrote the lawmakers. “As we continue to work toward legislation to end the federal criminalization of marijuana and to regulate it responsibly and equitably, we urge prompt administrative action to tackle the harms of criminalization — particularly for the benefit of communities most harmed by the War on Drugs.”
The Biden-Harris Administration has taken historic steps to reduce harms caused by federal marijuana policy, including through pardons for individuals convicted of simple marijuana possession and plans to move marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act. The lawmakers urged the Drug Enforcement Administration to complete the rescheduling process as soon as possible — also underscoring the fact that doing so would not end federal criminalization, resolve its harms, or meaningfully address the gap between federal and state policy.
“Possession and use of recreational marijuana — and much state-legal medical marijuana — will continue to be a violation of federal law…The Biden Administration has the opportunity to further reduce the harms of marijuana’s criminalization before the end of this Administration,” wrote the lawmakers.
The lawmakers pushed President Biden and Vice President Harris to promptly expand clemency for individuals with marijuana-related convictions — specifically, another round of pardons and commutations to reduce sentences or end terms of incarceration — and urge state governors to expand marijuana clemency and decriminalize low-level marijuana conduct under state law.
The lawmakers also pushed the Department of Justice to issue an updated version of the Obama-era “Cole Memo” to deprioritize prosecuting individuals for marijuana offenses that have been the subject of federal pardons or that comply with state or Tribal law.
The following Representatives signed on in support of the letter: Cory Booker (N-N.J.), James McGovern (D-Mass.), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), and Dina Titus (D-Nev.).
The following Senators signed on in support of the letter: Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).
“The Drug Policy Alliance proudly stands with federal policymakers in calling on the Biden Administration to expand clemency and issue an updated memorandum on federal enforcement priorities,” said Cat Packer, Director of Drug Markets and Legal Regulation for the Drug Policy Alliance. “The devastating and enduring impacts of cannabis criminalization demand urgent action. While these measures are not a replacement for the ultimate goal of ending marijuana criminalization, they represent immediate and impactful steps to reduce the harms of the status quo.”
To read the full letter, click here.