[ [link removed] ]Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for Congress




A lot of progress has been made on marijuana reform in the past month —
but, there’s still a lot that needs to be done.

In this email, we’re going to get you up to speed on Biden’s recent
executive order, the difference between marijuana pardons vs.
expungements, and what steps Alexandria is calling for next to ensure that
everyone is able to participate in society freely regardless of past
marijuana possession.  

The TL;DR: 

On October 6, President Biden announced that he would pardon some (not
all) simple federal marijuana possession convictions.

While the intent of this executive order should be applauded, additional
action is needed from Congress and state governments to actually realize
the intent of this order. Let’s dive in! 

What did Biden’s executive order do? 

President Biden issued pardons for all prior federal offenses of simple
possession of marijuana, not expungements – which are not necessarily in
his purview – and that’s an important distinction. More on that later… 

There are currently zero people in federal custody for simple possession
of marijuana. So, in effect, no one was released from prison from this
order.^1 

President Biden’s pardon only applied to citizens with federal marijuana
charges (of which there are about 6,500).^2 Many immigrants applying for
citizenship could continue to face deportation or other adverse
consequences for possessing a substance that is now legal in many states.

For those eligible, the pardon will restore civic rights lost due to the
felony conviction (like voting, or serving on juries), but only if the
marijuana charge was the only felony on their record.

What is a pardon vs. expungement?

A pardon ends a prison sentence, but it doesn’t erase the charge from your
record, only expungement can do that.

Pardons allow leaders to release someone who has been incarcerated. But an
expungement is extremely important because it’s a judicial process that
allows a person's partial or entire record to be concealed. A pardon will
reduce or decrease the penalty of a crime, but an expungement is what
actually wipes that slate clean. 

If you pardon someone and they apply for a job for instance, the charge
and the arrest is still on their record. Therefore, people with simple
marijuana possessions are still being blocked from accessing housing,
employment, financial aid for education, and other resources. 

We must expunge records in addition to providing pardons. Without
expungement, a criminal record for marijuana use can still effectively bar
you from participating in much of society. 

What’s next?

President Biden sent an important signal when he pardoned citizens with
federal charges for simple marijuana possession. But there’s still a lot
more to do. 

Last year, Alexandria introduced a bipartisan bill with Congressman David
Joyce (OH-14) calling for the federal government to create grants to hand
to states and local municipalities in order to actually fulfill and carry
through the process of expungement of criminal records for the tens of
millions of Americans who have previously been convinced of marijuana
offenses. 

In addition, this week, Alexandria led a letter with Reps. Chuy Garcia and
Ilhan Omar asking the President to pardon all simple marijuana possession
offenses – regardless of immigration status – and reopen the immigration
cases of those who were deported for marijuana-related offenses.

[ [link removed] ]If you agree that no one should have their futures compromised because
of marijuana possession, please chip in $3 to our campaign
today to help Alexandria and our movement continue the fight for marijuana
reform.

Thank you so much for reading. 

Team AOC

P.S. Was this email helpful? Confusing? Let us know your thoughts below.  

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1 - [ [link removed] ]The Marshall Project
2 - [ [link removed] ]The Marshall Project


 

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