President Joe Biden has issued a proclamation declaring April “Second Chance Month” for people who have served time in prison, and in the document he took the opportunity to tout his marijuana pardons and address the collateral consequences of cannabis convictions.
The proclamation, issued on Friday, isn’t directly focused on marijuana clemency. It’s more broadly meant to raise attention to “helping people forge the new beginnings they have earned and building a safer and more just society.”
Biden said that his administration has worked to prevent crime and break “the cycle of recidivism,” and part of that effort involved granting a mass cannabis pardon late last year for people who’ve committed federal marijuana possession offenses.
He said that the White House has “taken historic steps to end our Nation’s failed approach to marijuana.”
“Sending people to prison for possession has upended too many lives for conduct that many States no longer prohibit,” the proclamation says. “It has seen Black and Brown Americans disproportionately arrested, prosecuted, and convicted; and imposed unfair barriers to housing, employment, and education.”
“Last fall, I announced a full pardon for Federal and D.C. simple possession offenses, while calling on other elected officials to do the same
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