Joe Biden · Democratic · Major Decision
Mass Pardons for Marijuana Possession
Oct 6, 2022
Joe BidenJustice & Civil LibertiesMajor DecisionTerm (2021–25)
📜 View the official record on federalregister.gov
What happened
Pardoned all prior federal simple-marijuana-possession offenses and directed a review to reschedule cannabis under federal law.
How it happened
Presidential proclamation (October 2022, expanded 2023) plus an HHS/DEA scheduling review.
Documented impact
Positive impactsubstantiated
Cleared federal possession convictions and advanced rescheduling.
Thousands of federal convictions were pardoned; the move pushed a historic review toward reclassifying cannabis to Schedule III.
Mixed impactsubstantiated
Limited immediate reach.
No one was released (few are in federal prison for simple possession); most marijuana cases are at the state level.
Sources
Every claim above links to its source. Primary record and cited reporting: