# Dank Brandon (President Biden) announces Federal pardon of Marijuana Possession and use charges - inmates, review of federal laws re: same **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [October 6, 2022, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dank-brandon-president-biden-announces-federal-pardon-of-marijuana-possession-and-use-charges-inmates-review-of-federal-laws-re-same/972840 "2022-10-06T19:20:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2023, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dank-brandon-president-biden-announces-federal-pardon-of-marijuana-possession-and-use-charges-inmates-review-of-federal-laws-re-same/972840/101 "2023-12-22T18:25:40Z")
Note that this only applies to federal lands and DC, which is where Biden’s authority ends. If you are in a state where MJ is illegal you can still be busted for it. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2023, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dank-brandon-president-biden-announces-federal-pardon-of-marijuana-possession-and-use-charges-inmates-review-of-federal-laws-re-same/972840/102 "2023-12-22T18:51:50Z")
And “no federal prisoners are eligible for release as a result of Friday’s pardon.” Still pretty cool. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2023, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dank-brandon-president-biden-announces-federal-pardon-of-marijuana-possession-and-use-charges-inmates-review-of-federal-laws-re-same/972840/103 "2023-12-22T19:08:37Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Note that this only applies to federal lands and DC, which is where Biden’s authority ends. Well, technically, Marijuana possession is illegal under the federal system everywhere in the U.S. The federal prosecutors usually leave it to the states to prosecute simple possession cases (except on federal lands) and go after growers and distributors primarily. So, this pardon probably covers all or almost all of the actual people prosecuted by the feds, but it is not “where Biden’s aurhority ends.” ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2023, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dank-brandon-president-biden-announces-federal-pardon-of-marijuana-possession-and-use-charges-inmates-review-of-federal-laws-re-same/972840/104 "2023-12-22T19:16:25Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > If you are in a state where MJ is illegal you can still be busted for it. This is true and good to remember. For those of us who live in a state where it’s legal, it means that the other side of it (the federal enforcement threat) is no longer a factor. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2023, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dank-brandon-president-biden-announces-federal-pardon-of-marijuana-possession-and-use-charges-inmates-review-of-federal-laws-re-same/972840/105 "2023-12-22T19:20:30Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > For those of us who live in a state where it’s legal, it means that the other side of it (the federal enforcement threat) is no longer a factor Probably true for simple possession, but as pointed out upthread, the law remains on the books and someone violating it tomorrow has not been pardoned ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2023, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dank-brandon-president-biden-announces-federal-pardon-of-marijuana-possession-and-use-charges-inmates-review-of-federal-laws-re-same/972840/106 "2023-12-22T19:42:48Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > Probably true for simple possession, but as pointed out upthread, the law remains on the books and someone violating it tomorrow has not been pardoned I hadn’t considered that part, yeah. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2023, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dank-brandon-president-biden-announces-federal-pardon-of-marijuana-possession-and-use-charges-inmates-review-of-federal-laws-re-same/972840/107 "2023-12-22T21:55:44Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Dank Brandon strikes again: Nice! I was waiting for someone to do this. Now, Newsom needs to do the same. > [@wguy123](#): > > Good. Because, what a huge waste of time and resources. What amuses me is how much time and resources the “small government” uses for similar things, like undocumented aliens. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2024, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dank-brandon-president-biden-announces-federal-pardon-of-marijuana-possession-and-use-charges-inmates-review-of-federal-laws-re-same/972840/108 "2024-12-12T20:48:04Z")
And now this: > **[Biden grants clemency for nearly 1,500 people, the biggest single-day act of...](https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/12/politics/biden-clemency-pardons-non-violent-crimes/index.html)** > > President Joe Biden announced Thursday that he is commuting the sentences of some 1,500 individuals and pardoning 39 people convicted of non-violent crimes – marking a broad use of the presidential clemency power just weeks from the end of Biden’s... ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2024, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dank-brandon-president-biden-announces-federal-pardon-of-marijuana-possession-and-use-charges-inmates-review-of-federal-laws-re-same/972840/109 "2024-12-12T21:56:35Z")
This has an interesting side note- > **[Biden issues 39 presidential pardons and commutes 1,500 sentences](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c30nq7r0v2mo)** > > The White House says it is the highest number of presidential acts of clemency in a single day. _In a separate development on Thursday, an ex-FBI informant pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI, which had led to investigations into the Biden family._ _Alexander Smirnov acknowledged that he concocted “fabrications” about Biden and his son accepting bribes from Ukrainian energy firm Burisma. The claim was seized upon by Republicans in Congress as proof of corruption._ ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2024, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dank-brandon-president-biden-announces-federal-pardon-of-marijuana-possession-and-use-charges-inmates-review-of-federal-laws-re-same/972840/110 "2024-12-13T07:24:17Z")
I assume the incoming Trump administration takes a dim view on weed and will keep it on schedule one right next to heroin? Then again, isn’t Elon Musk a marijuana enthusiast? Sure doesn’t seem very efficient to chase after pot smokers now, does it? ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2024, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dank-brandon-president-biden-announces-federal-pardon-of-marijuana-possession-and-use-charges-inmates-review-of-federal-laws-re-same/972840/111 "2024-12-13T13:40:08Z")
Not sure which of the multiple “pardon” threads this would go best in, but I saw he commuted the sentence of [the queen of Dixon - Rita Crundwell!](https://news.wttw.com/2024/12/12/former-dixon-comptroller-rita-crundwell-who-embezzled-almost-54m-public-funds-has) Truly a despicable person who harmed many. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2024, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dank-brandon-president-biden-announces-federal-pardon-of-marijuana-possession-and-use-charges-inmates-review-of-federal-laws-re-same/972840/112 "2024-12-13T20:29:21Z")
She has served iirc 12 of her 20 years, and half is normal for white collar crimes. She was already on home confinement due to poor health. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2024, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dank-brandon-president-biden-announces-federal-pardon-of-marijuana-possession-and-use-charges-inmates-review-of-federal-laws-re-same/972840/113 "2024-12-14T14:07:04Z")
Is it too late for Biden to rescind a commutation? One of the people whose sentences Joe commuted is Michael Conahan, the “cash-for-kids” judge who was paid to send kids to a for-profit prison. I’m thinking, charitably, that this was just a mistake- on paper, Conahan probably looked like he fit all of the boxes: non-violent, not too many years left on his sentence, under home arrest since COVID… but it’s still an insanely bad look. If there’s anyone who deserves to rot under under a prison, it’s a judge who sent kids to prison for money. First off, of course- how the hell did this guy get only 17.5 years? Secondly, how the hell did he get house arrest? Commuting what little is left of his sentence is really a slap in the face of all of those kids whose lives he ruined. So yeah, my question is- can… or, perhaps, more to the point, _will_- Biden reverse this guy’s commutation? ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2024, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dank-brandon-president-biden-announces-federal-pardon-of-marijuana-possession-and-use-charges-inmates-review-of-federal-laws-re-same/972840/114 "2024-12-14T15:02:34Z")
> [@DWMarch](#): > > Sure doesn’t seem very efficient to chase after pot smokers now, does it? In my limited, yet rigorous, youthful experiments, I deduced that the average subject became suprisingly inefficient in all tasks, but two: 1. the manipulation of common household items, fruits and vegetables into a make-shift pipe or bong, with the intention of smoking to the point where the most efficient posture is a slump in a chair with eyes closed, and/or 2. possibly preceded by a burst of creative energy wherein multiple edible foodstuffs are combined in such a way that a “normal” person would find absolutely inedible, but the intrepid stoners eat anyway I can see Elon going either way. Or both. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2024, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dank-brandon-president-biden-announces-federal-pardon-of-marijuana-possession-and-use-charges-inmates-review-of-federal-laws-re-same/972840/115 "2024-12-14T20:15:12Z")
> [@Lightnin](#): > > Secondly, how the hell did he get house arrest? Commuting what little is left of his sentence is really a slap in the face of all of those kids whose lives he ruined. I think he got house arrest along with a huge group of people during COVID who were deemed to be more susceptible because of age and/or health condition. I agree he should have been sent to SuperMax for life. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2024, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dank-brandon-president-biden-announces-federal-pardon-of-marijuana-possession-and-use-charges-inmates-review-of-federal-laws-re-same/972840/116 "2024-12-14T21:01:58Z")
never mind ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2024, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dank-brandon-president-biden-announces-federal-pardon-of-marijuana-possession-and-use-charges-inmates-review-of-federal-laws-re-same/972840/117 "2024-12-15T20:03:59Z")
> [@Lightnin](#): > > One of the people whose sentences Joe commuted is Michael Conahan, the “cash-for-kids” judge who was paid to send kids to a for-profit prison. Yeah, this one really bothers me. IMO, that guy should spend the rest of his life in prison. Commuting the rest of his sentence is terrible. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2024, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dank-brandon-president-biden-announces-federal-pardon-of-marijuana-possession-and-use-charges-inmates-review-of-federal-laws-re-same/972840/118 "2024-12-15T20:33:50Z")
Did Biden give a specific rationale for pardoning Conahan? You know Republicans are going to be running attack ads based off of this, however hypocritical the GOP stance may be. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2024, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dank-brandon-president-biden-announces-federal-pardon-of-marijuana-possession-and-use-charges-inmates-review-of-federal-laws-re-same/972840/119 "2024-12-15T20:53:53Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > You know Republicans are going to be running attack ads based off of this, Biden’s NEVER gonna get reelected now! ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2024, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dank-brandon-president-biden-announces-federal-pardon-of-marijuana-possession-and-use-charges-inmates-review-of-federal-laws-re-same/972840/120 "2024-12-15T20:57:22Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Did Biden give a specific rationale for pardoning Conahan? My guess is that he is old- 75?-, sick, and they cant keep him in prison due to Covid anyway, he is on home release. He has served half his sentence, which is about normal for a white collar crime. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dank-brandon-president-biden-announces-federal-pardon-of-marijuana-possession-and-use-charges-inmates-review-of-federal-laws-re-same/972840.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dank-brandon-president-biden-announces-federal-pardon-of-marijuana-possession-and-use-charges-inmates-review-of-federal-laws-re-same/972840.md?page=7)