President Joe Biden marked the holiday Juneteenth by issuing a proclamation that promotes his mass marijuana pardon and scheduling review directive.
As the country commemorates the emancipation of enslaved Black people, the president’s proclamation touts various efforts by his administration to address racial discrimination, including last year’s cannabis clemency move.
“I have taken action on marijuana reform by pardoning prior District of Columbia and Federal simple marijuana possession offenses and directed a review of marijuana scheduling,” Biden said on the federal holiday, which was established under legislation he signed in 2021.
The president has repeatedly promoted the cannabis actions, linking them to the administration’s racial equity efforts.
Speaking at a Martin Luther King Jr. Day hosted by the National Action Network’s (NAN) in January, for example, Biden said he was keeping his “promise” by providing relief to those who’ve been criminalized over cannabis.
In February, Biden marked the end of Black History Month by giving publicity to the cannabis clemency actions and highlighting the racially disparate impact of marijuana enforcement.
The White House also argued that the president’s pardons could lift social and economic barriers as part of a factsheet that was released ahead of Biden’s State of the Union
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