| | | | Dear reader,
Did you know that in February 2024, President Joe Biden's Department of Justice ordered federal prosecutors to seek approval before bringing the kinds of cannabis possession charges for which he pardoned thousands of people?
Probably not, because the Biden administration never told anyone about it. This shocking DOJ guidance is only coming to light now because Marijuana Moment obtained the document via a Freedom of Information Act request.
Trump's DOJ quietly rescinded the guidance this year, but this disclosure could still impact an upcoming Supreme Court case on cannabis, federal rescheduling efforts and more. | | I'm so proud of the work we do at Marijuana Moment, but it's only really possible thanks to generous readers like you.
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There are a lot of interesting nuggets in this memo. For instance, it directed prosecutors to generally "oppose motions seeking to expunge records related to pardoned marijuana possession convictions"—seeming to contradict Biden's rhetoric around the pardons.
It also seems to indicate Biden's DOJ knew a law barring cannabis consumers from possessing guns would provoke legal challenges and urged prosecutors to use their discretion wisely.
| | Marijuana Moment's Kyle Jaeger has been carefully detailing many other aspects of the memo and chronicling the reactions to it on our site.
I won't spoil it here and highly encourage you to read, but I will say it's pretty mind boggling that the Biden administration failed to mention any of this on the campaign trail despite repeatedly touting the pardons and his directive that kickstarted the process to reschedule cannabis. One industry source we spoke to called it "political malpractice."
But one thing's for sure: we wouldn't know any of this without Marijuana Moment's behind the scenes work to obtain primary source documents and our coverage analyzing them.
If you appreciate this tenacious journalism, can you chip in $10/mo or more on Patreon to support our work?
Kyle's stories about the DOJ marijuana memo are already making waves in Washington, D.C. | | Representative Dina Titus (D-NV) seized upon it to argue the disclosure of Biden's guidance and the notice of Trump's rescission wasn't enough. She's now demanding more information from the Trump administration about its cannabis enforcement policy on federal lands.
"The Trump Administration wrongfully rescinded Biden-era guidance that discouraged the prosecution of simple cannabis possession on federal property," Titus told Marijuana Moment. "This move is a step backward for commonsense cannabis policy reform and will further exacerbate the cycle of unfair prosecution and incarceration." | | Join our Patreon for $10/month or more to support our thorough reporting on cannabis and drug policy—and unlock an ad-free experience on MarijuanaMoment.net!
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Thanks for reading and supporting our work. | | Tom Angell
Marijuana Moment
Editor and Publisher | | | P.S. While you're checking us out on Patreon, you might as well take a look at our other subscription tiers, which include access to our detailed Bill Tracker monitoring hundreds of cannabis and drug policy bills, a live preview of the newsletter as I draft it in real time before it comes out, and more. | | See Marijuana Moment's sponsorship and advertising policy here. | | | | | | | |
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