Justice Department formally moves to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug in historic shift
A proposed rule sent Thursday to the federal register recognizes medical uses of cannabis and acknowledges it has less potential for abuse than some of the most dangerous drugs.
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Will they retroactively commute sentences of people who were charged with the previous classification?
No, because it's still illegal. This reclassification is a compromise, not a solution.
baby steps.
Biden has done what he is able to do. He proclaimed presidential pardon for federal marijuana charges in late 2022. However, the executive branch has no authority to impact state level charges, which would likely be the vast majority of people affected by marijuana policing over time. In a world where government works as intended, state level organizations should take their cues from what the federal government is doing, but, as I understand it, they are not necessarily beholden to slavishly adopt the federal posture. Perhaps someone with a deeper understanding might illuminate us further.
That's about right.
Federal prosecution is rare. If they charge you with marijuana possession at the federal level, then there's probably a list of a dozen other charges on top of it, and at least one of them is the serious thing they're actually after you for. Feds don't waste their time with this shit unless there's a bigger reason.
So what Biden did has very little practical effect. A bunch of people got one charge among many taken off their record. That's what he's able to do with just a stroke of a pen. The rest is dependent on states, federal congress, or the vast federal bureaucracy.
As a small, optimistic caveat to the above, Biden's pardon does work for anyone who was charged in Washington DC since they don't have a state body representing them. So, yes, typically anyone with a federal marijuana charge is also likely the subject of many more serious charges, there is a population of people that may have received immediate relief at the time, which is good.