Joe Biden can be just so “Joe Biden” that you just shake your head and wonder what “good move” he will do next.

In 2017, just two days before he left office, President Obama did his last set of hundreds of commutations for non-violent drug offenses in federal prison. He had already done hundreds to thousands throughout 2016. From The Insider:

Obama granted 209 commutations, or shortened prison sentences, on Tuesday, with a majority of those going to Americans serving long sentences for non-violent drug offenses, The International Business Times reports. The president also issued 64 pardons this week.

And Joe Biden just outdid Obama by being Joe Biden. It doesn’t hurt that Biden is seen as an elderly [white] pillar and can do things like this that might’ve been tougher for Obama, but this is major:

First: I’m pardoning all prior federal offenses of simple marijuana possession. There are thousands of people who were previously convicted of simple possession who may be denied employment, housing, or educational opportunities as a result. My pardon will remove this burden.

Second: I’m calling on governors to pardon simple state marijuana possession offenses. Just as no one should be in a federal prison solely for possessing marijuana, no one should be in a local jail or state prison for that reason, either.

Third: We classify marijuana at the same level as heroin – and more serious than fentanyl. It makes no sense. I’m asking @SecBecerra  and the Attorney General to initiate the process of reviewing how marijuana is scheduled under federal law.

Joe does understand that with cartels involved and the possible lacing of marijuana with fentanyl, it must be watched and requires law enforcement investigation and prosecution:

I’d also like to note that as federal and state regulations change, we still need important limitations on trafficking, marketing, and underage sales of marijuana.

It just screams for federal legalization.

Sending people to jail for possessing marijuana has upended too many lives – for conduct that is legal in many states. That’s before you address the clear racial disparities around prosecution and conviction. Today, we begin to right these wrongs.

This act, perhaps more than any other in his presidency, shows Joe combining experience, and justice, with a huge heart. What a change from the “celebrity” and “buddy” pardons the last guy issued.

First: I’m pardoning all prior federal offenses of simple marijuana possession. There are thousands of people who were previously convicted of simple possession who may be denied employment, housing, or educational opportunities as a result. My pardon will remove this burden.

— President Biden (@POTUS) October 6, 2022

Wonderful.

****

[email protected], @JasonMiciak, with Nicole Hickman