Just a few months before 2022, midterm elections, the US administration has announced a marijuana pardon that will exonerate anyone who was convicted of marijuana possession. The announcement took lawmakers and common people by surprise as the current administration has largely been silent on the legalization of marijuana.
But the new announcement allows one to nurture hope that things might change in the near future. In the US, the use and possession of cannabis is illegal under federal law. However, as of 2022, 19 states, the District of Columbia and two US territories have permitted recreational use of cannabis. Demand for marijuana had surged during the Covid lockdown.
The Marijuana Pardon
The marijuana pardon is only applicable to those who were convicted of the offense of simple marijuana possession.
“No one should be in jail just for using or possessing marijuana,” a White House statement said. “Sending people to prison for possessing marijuana has upended too many lives and incarcerated people for conduct that many states no longer prohibit.”
The President admitted that being jailed for marijuana possession is a failed approach and he wants to remedy that. Next, the president called on states to follow a similar approach. He also said that an administrative review of federal marijuana scheduling is long overdue.
In the statement, the president called on the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Attorney General to examine marijuana’s classification as a Schedule I drug, the classification reserved for substances with a high potential for abuse, including heroin, LSD, and ecstasy. Cannabis, the plant from which hemp and marijuana are derived, was legal in the US until the 1937 Marihuana Tax Act went into effect. The policy eventually led law enforcement to criminally charge large numbers of people for marijuana possession.
Recent polls conducted by Politico show that an overwhelming majority of Americans are in favor of making Marijuana legal. They consider the marijuana pardon the first step in the right direction
Marijuana Legalization
In the US, federal legislation regarding marijuana has been stalled in the Senate. According to the nonprofit Drug Policy, over one million arrests were made in 2020 for drug law violations, out of which a majority was for marijuana possession.
Meanwhile, in neighboring Canada, cannabis is legal for adults. However, it is illegal to transport cannabis or cannabis products across the border.
Derived from the same plant species as marijuana, hemp yields less than 0.3% of the psychoactive ingredient THC, which produces a “high” when ingested. In 2018, Congress passed a bill that removed barriers for legal production of hemp within America and international export. The Department of Agriculture estimates that the value of hemp production hit $824 million in 2021. But rescheduling and legalizing marijuana could be even more profitable.
By the end of 2022, recreational use and medical-marijuana sales are expected to touch $33 billion. Experts believe that the day is not far off when marijuana will be completely legal. The US president’s decision to issue a marijuana pardon resulted in stocks of cannabis companies surging. In North America, a lot of cannabis tech startups have boomed in the past few years.
Federal legalization of marijuana will remove multiple bottlenecks that have coked the cannabis industry. It will also bring together multi-state businesses and attract more investment. Legalization of marijuana has faced opposition from some parties who claim that it is a health and safety risk. On the other hand, some argue that it provides stress and pain relief, and must be available to all. In the US, every state has its own processes regarding legalization of marijuana. Provisions outline how much marijuana an individual can possess, whether they can cultivate the plant, and what the tax structure is.
The US President’s marijuana pardon is being seen as a move in the right direction as the October 7 announcement also included a request for the secretary of health and human services and the attorney general “to initiate the administrative process to review expeditiously how marijuana is scheduled under federal law.” The probability is high that federal legislation will soon remove itself from marijuana’s path.
