The Biden administration’s top health official on Monday tweeted a link to a Marijuana Moment article that discusses the president’s recent administrative cannabis scheduling directive. U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra posted the link at precisely 4:20pm ET—the second time during his tenure that he shared marijuana policy news at that symbolic […]| Marijuana Moment
President Joe Biden’s surprise marijuana pardon action last week has been widely praised as an important step toward righting the wrongs of prohibition. But advocates have also been quick to point out that the move is seriously limited in scope and will leave many victims of the war on cannabis behind, without relief. People prosecuted […]| Marijuana Moment
Just one in four Republicans agree that people of color are unfairly punished over marijuana, despite data consistently showing that Black and Hispanic people are disproportionately arrested over cannabis compared to white people, according to a new poll. It’s a significant finding, especially given how commonly studies and reports about racial discrimination in cannabis enforcement […]| Marijuana Moment
The Justice Department and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) say they will quickly act to follow President Joe Biden’s new directive to review marijuana’s federal scheduling status and process mass cannabis possession pardons. Within an hour after the president made the surprise announcement, a DOJ spokesperson released a statement saying the department […]| Marijuana Moment
U.S. Pardon Attorney Elizabeth Oyer said on Tuesday that the Justice Department will soon give people the opportunity obtain certificates for presidential marijuana pardons through a soon-to-be-launched application process that they expect will only take 10 minutes to complete. The official also weighed in on the fact that the President Joe Biden’s mass pardon excluded […]| Marijuana Moment
President Joe Biden issued an executive order on Thursday that touts the administration’s efforts to address the “failed approach” on federal marijuana policy. The executive order doesn’t specifically build on any administrative cannabis reforms; rather it’s focused on promoting equity within federal agencies and the White House. But the president took the opportunity to connect […]| Marijuana Moment
President Joe Biden granted a half dozen pardons on Friday, including for a handful of people with marijuana or other drug convictions on their records. The end-of-year clemency action follows the mass pardon for Americans who’ve committed federal cannabis possession offenses that the president issued in October. Advocates would welcome any form of presidential relief—and […]| Marijuana Moment
President Joe Biden has officially signed a marijuana research bill into law, making history by enacting the first piece of standalone federal cannabis reform legislation in U.S. history. The bill cleared the House in July and the Senate last month, and a White House spokesperson confirmed to Marijuana Moment that the president intended to sign […]| Marijuana Moment