06/10/2022
Here is the President’s statement:
“As I said when I ran for President, no one should be in jail just for using or possessing ma*****na. It’s legal in many states, and criminal records for ma*****na possession have led to needless barriers to employment, housing, and educational opportunities. And that’s before you address the racial disparities around who suffers the consequences. While white and Black and brown people use ma*****na at similar rates, Black and brown people are arrested, prosecuted, and convicted at disproportionate rates.
So today I’m taking three steps to end this failed approach.
First: I’m announcing a pardon of all prior federal offenses of simple possession of ma*****na. There are thousands of people who were convicted for ma*****na possession who may be denied employment, housing, or educational opportunities as a result. My pardon will remove this burden on them.
Second: I’m calling on all governors to do the same for state ma*****na possession offenses.
Third: The federal government currently classifies ma*****na as a “schedule one” substance, the same as he**in and L*D – and more serious than fentanyl. It makes no sense. I’m asking the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Attorney General to initiate the process to review how ma*****na is scheduled under federal law.
And even as federal and local regulations of ma*****na change, important limitations on trafficking, marketing, and under-age sales should stay in place.
Too many lives have been upended because of our failed approach to ma*****na. It’s time that we right these wrongs.”
