Florida State Senator Shevrin Jones wrote to Governor Ron DeSantis (R) on Friday asking him to pardon state-level cannabis possession convictions. The move came after President Biden’s Thursday announcement to pardon such offenses on the federal level, benefitting some 6,500 people, but not the approximately 40,000 with similar state-level offenses.
Even though President Biden urged governors to do the same, some state leaders have already announced they oppose the move. Texas Governor Greg Abbot recently announced he will not allow such pardons in the Lone Star State.
Jones is pushing DeSantis to follow Biden’s steps and use his executive powers to pardon Floridians convicted of similar offenses, reported The Capitolist.
“Yesterday, President Joe Biden announced that his administration will be taking executive action to pardon every American that has been convicted of simple possession of marijuana under federal law. I am writing to ask you to consider extending a similar policy to citizens here in Florida who have previous convictions for simple possession of marijuana,” wrote Jones. “As you may know, the majority of possession convictions happen at the state level rather than at the federal level, which means that without similar action here in Florida, many Floridians will still carry the burden of their conviction.”
Nikki Fried, Florida's Agriculture and Consumer Services commissioner and marijuana legalization proponent, said Biden’s action is “the right thing to do.”
Fried is behind a Second Amendment lawsuit against the Biden administration, which seeks to allow legal medical marijuana users to buy and own guns. The government argued that it was “dangerous to trust regular marijuana users to exercise sound judgment.”
The DOJ's new filing said.“Marijuana users also engage in criminal activity that renders firearms possession dangerous, albeit for different reasons (i.e., the propensity for violence for domestic violence misdemeanants, and the impairing effects of marijuana for marijuana users).”
According to a recent poll conducted by the University of North Florida Opinion Research Lab, a majority of Floridians back adult-use marijuana. Nevertheless, state leaders have been taking another opposition, with DeSantis announcing earlier this year that he would maybe back cannabis decriminalization, but not full legalization.
DeSantis Takes Aim At Cannabis Stocks
Several weeks ago, DeSantis said medical cannabis businesses should pay a lot more for the chance to legally operate in the Sunshine State.
The state “should charge these people more,” DeSantis said, according to the Tampa Bay Times. “I mean, these are very valuable licenses. I would charge them an arm and a leg. I mean, everybody wants these licenses.”
DeSantis didn't specify whether he meant medical marijuana companies that are already operating in the state, such as Trulieve Cannabis Corp. (OTC:TCNNF), or companies that have yet to do business in Florida but are interested.
Photo: Benzinga Edit; Sources: Incredible_movements by Shutterstock and Wikimedia Commons
