Quick summary:
• Biden’s administration has rescheduled marijuana and issued pardons but left gaps in federal reform.
• Federal law still criminalizes marijuana, creating conflicts with state legalization efforts.
• Lawmakers call for a memorandum deprioritizing federal prosecutions for state-legal marijuana activities.
• At least 3,000 people remain in federal prisons for marijuana-related offenses despite pardons.
• Marijuana arrests disproportionately target Black Americans, perpetuating systemic inequities.
• Upcoming Republican leadership under Trump raises fears of regressive marijuana policies.
• Democrats stress Biden’s chance to reduce harm and align federal practices with public opinion.
Democratic lawmakers are pressing President Joe Biden to take bold, final steps to deprioritize federal marijuana prosecutions before his term ends in January. While Biden’s administration has made historic strides in addressing federal marijuana policy, including rescheduling the drug and issuing pardons, major issues such as criminalization and enforcement remain unresolved.
Led by Representative Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) and Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), 14 members of the Democratic caucus sent a letter urging Biden to issue a memorandum deprioritizing marijuana-related prosecutions and raids. This comes as federal and state policies remain sharply at odds despite growing public support for legalization.
The Biden administration’s efforts have marked a significant shift in federal marijuana policy. Earlier this year, the president directed health regulators to recommend rescheduling marijuana as a Schedule III substance under the Controlled Substances Act, lowering it from its previous classification as a Schedule I drug. Schedule I drugs, such as heroin, are considered to have no medical use and a high potential for abuse, a designation that marijuana advocates and lawmakers have long criticized.
Biden has also issued several rounds of pardons for those convicted of marijuana-related offenses. In 2022, he declared, “Sending people to prison for possessing marijuana has upended too many lives and incarcerated people for conduct that many states no longer prohibit. Criminal records for marijuana possession have also imposed needless barriers to employment, housing, and educational opportunities.”
However, lawmakers argue that these actions, while significant, are insufficient. Rescheduling marijuana “will not end federal criminalization, resolve its harms, or meaningfully address the gap between federal and state cannabis policy,” wrote Lee, Warren, and other signatories, including Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Representatives Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.).
Despite the progress, federal law still criminalizes marijuana possession, use, and state-legal activities. This creates conflicts with state policies and leaves individuals and businesses vulnerable to federal enforcement. According to the lawmakers, federal sentences for marijuana possession have declined significantly—from over 2,000 in 2015 to 13 in 2023—but the risk of prosecution remains.
In some cases, enforcement has escalated. The letter cites raids conducted in New Mexico this year, where state police destroyed tens of thousands of marijuana plants that were grown legally under state law. These actions illustrate the ongoing tension between federal enforcement and state-level legalization.
“The Biden administration has the opportunity to further reduce the harms of marijuana’s criminalization before the end of this administration,” the lawmakers wrote, emphasizing the need for immediate action.
To address these issues, the lawmakers proposed a two-pronged approach. First, they urged Biden to issue broader clemency for individuals convicted of marijuana-related offenses, noting that at least 3,000 people remain in federal prisons for such convictions. While the administration’s previous pardons helped mitigate some collateral consequences of marijuana convictions, they “resulted in virtually no releases from prison because few individuals were in federal prisons for these low-level offenses.”
Second, they called for a memorandum directing federal law enforcement to deprioritize prosecutions for state-legal marijuana activities, personal cannabis use, and activities already covered by prior federal pardons. This shift, they argue, would reduce harm and align federal practices with the growing number of states that have legalized marijuana for recreational or medical use.
Marijuana possession remains a significant driver of drug arrests in the United States, with nearly 700,000 people arrested annually for possession. One-third of these arrests are for marijuana, despite its increasing legalization at the state level. Racial disparities persist, with Black Americans nearly four times more likely than white Americans to be arrested for marijuana possession, despite similar usage rates.
Lawmakers have framed these disparities as a key reason for urgent action. “As we continue to work toward legislation to end the federal criminalization of marijuana and to regulate it responsibly and equitably, we urge prompt administrative action to tackle the harms of criminalization—particularly for the benefit of communities most harmed by the War on Drugs,” they wrote.
The urgency of this push is heightened by the looming transition to a new administration under President-elect Donald Trump, whose nominees signal mixed stances on marijuana policy. While Trump himself has voiced support for medical marijuana and reducing small-scale marijuana arrests, some of his cabinet picks have historically opposed legalization. For example, Pam Bondi, his nominee for attorney general, voted against medical marijuana legalization in Florida.
Democrats fear that marijuana reform could stall—or even regress—under Republican leadership. Trump’s first attorney general, Jeff Sessions, famously rescinded Obama-era policies deprioritizing marijuana enforcement in states where it was legalized. Although Trump pardoned some Americans for cannabis-related offenses in his previous term, his administration largely failed to address marijuana reform comprehensively.
Biden has an opportunity to cement his administration’s legacy on marijuana reform by taking these additional steps before leaving office. Deprioritizing federal enforcement and issuing broader clemency would significantly reduce the harm caused by outdated marijuana policies and align federal practices with public opinion.
“The Biden administration has the opportunity to further reduce the harms of marijuana’s criminalization before the end of this administration,” the lawmakers wrote.
For more information about D.C. Marijuana Justice, agroup fighting for equal rights for cannabis users, growers, and their families, click here.
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