Biden Can Decriminalize Federal Marijuana Without Lawmakers, CRS Report Finds

A Congressional Research Service (CRS) report outlined that while President Biden cannot deschedule marijuana on a federal level through an executive order, he can order federal agencies to treat it differently and remove it from the Controlled Substances Act. President Biden promised criminal justice reform in his campaign, and this is an opportunity for him to deliver through offering group clemency to those with marijuana-based federal charges. If this initiative is successful, President Biden could grant blanket clemency to all nonviolent individuals who are currently on home confinement under The CARES Act. As we’ve reported earlier, the population in Federal Prisons has increased by 3% since Biden took office. The backlog of federal cases that are waiting to be tried or negotiated could be reduced drastically under this blanket clemency. This would give US attorneys the time to prosecute the more serious type of offenses. Furthermore, this could also pave the way for the President to grant compassionate release to all individuals serving time in federal prison for marijuana-based charges.