Biden's 'Marijuana Reform' Leaves Prohibition Untouched

According to the New York Times, the "marijuana reform" that President Joe Biden announced in October represented "a fundamental change in America's response to a drug that has been at the center of a clash between culture and policing for more than a half-century." If only.

- By Jacob Sullum

Biden issued a mass pardon for low-level marijuana offenders and ordered a review of the drug's regulatory status. Neither initiative affected the federal ban on marijuana, which he still supports.

The pardons apply to people convicted of simple marijuana possession under federal law or the District of Columbia Code.

Biden said that step would help "thousands of people who were previously convicted of simple possession" and "who may be denied employment, housing or educational opportunities as a result." As an act of clemency, the blanket pardon was massive. But in the context of the war on weed, which has generated nearly 30 million arrests since 1965, it looked less impressive.

Rep. Dave Joyce (R-Ohio), co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, noted that "more than 14 million cannabis-related records at the state and local level continue to preclude Americans from stable housing and gainful employment."