(Washington) US President Joe Biden announced on Thursday that he would erase all federal convictions for simple possession of cannabis.
Posted at 5:08 p.m.
Updated at 5:28 p.m.
“No one should be imprisoned for simply consuming or possessing cannabis,” he said on Twitter, calling on state governors to follow this path and pardon those convicted of a simple cannabis possession offense.
The president also called on health and judicial authorities to rethink the sentences associated with marijuana, while the movement for its decriminalization is meeting with strong support in the United States. Mr. Biden, however, insisted on the importance of continuing the fight against the trafficking and sale to minors of cannabis.
These new measures also aim to rectify criminal proceedings that disproportionately affect ethnic minorities, justified the tenant of the White House.
“Erasing the criminal records of people convicted of drug possession is a matter of social justice,” applauded the influential progressive elected Pramila Jayapal.
Call of the foot to young people
The lower house of the American Congress had approved in early April a bill, carried by the elected officials of his Democratic party, aimed at removing cannabis from the federal list of dangerous drugs.
However, the text still has to be adopted by the Senate.
Nineteen of the 50 US states, as well as the capital Washington, have already legalized the use of cannabis for recreational purposes for adults.
In most states, its medicinal use is authorized in varying degrees, from oils containing a low level of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol, the psychoactive principle of cannabis) to pure marijuana.
Only a handful of ultraconservative and rural states, such as Idaho, Wyoming or Nebraska, remain intransigent.
But, strangely, marijuana remains illegal at the federal level. Joe Biden’s announcement on Thursday, however, symbolizes a first step towards his reclassification.
Marijuana use among young Americans hit record highs last year, according to a recent study.
Joe Biden’s announcement can also be interpreted as an appeal to this electorate, one month before the mid-term elections.
As a whole, the American population is overwhelmingly in favor of the legalization of cannabis.
According to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center last year, 91% of adults think marijuana should be legal, for medical use, for recreational use, or both.
Sales of legal cannabis in the United States last year were around 25 billion dollars and all experts predict the sector will grow rapidly in the coming years.