President Joe Biden issued his State of the Union address on Thursday, March 7, and among many topics, he said he’ll direct his Cabinet to consider reclassifying cannabis at the federal level. It’s the first time that a president of the United States addressed cannabis reform as part of his State of the Union address.

“Keep building public trust, as I’ve been doing by taking executive action on police reform, and calling for it to be the law of the land, directing my Cabinet to review the federal classification of marijuana, and expunging thousands of convictions  for mere possession, because no one should be jailed for using or possessing marijuana!” Biden said.

Biden also posted on X that “no one should be jailed for using or possessing marijuana,” which prompted responses from people who pushed for real expungements—not the mostly meaningless wave of pardons to people with minor cannabis convictions issued by Biden in 2022.

Biden issued two executive orders in October 2022, pardoning some people with nonviolent federal cannabis records, and he asked the Department of Health and Human Services to evaluate if cannabis should be rescheduled under the Controlled Substances Act.

The US Cannabis Council (USCC) launched in 2021 with a goal to build better access to an equitable and values-driven industry. The USCC has been working hard to advance federal cannabis legalization and promote restorative justice to the people harmed the most by the War on Drugs.

“The US Cannabis Council applauds President Biden for highlighting cannabis reform as an issue of national concern during his State of the Union address,” David Culver, SVP of Public Affairs at the USCC said in a statement obtained by High Times. “The President has issued historic pardons for nonviolent cannabis offenses and initiated a groundbreaking review of the status of cannabis under federal law. Tonight’s remarks before a national audience signal the President’s ongoing commitment to advancing cannabis reform. We are encouraged by what we heard this evening and optimistic that the Biden Administration will move cannabis down to Schedule III this year.” 

“President Biden made history tonight by addressing cannabis reform during the State of the Union,” said Adam Goers, co-chair, Coalition for Cannabis Scheduling Reform. The President is committed to modernizing the federal government’s approach to cannabis, and he reinforced that commitment tonight in front of the American people. Moving cannabis down to Schedule III would represent an historic shift in our nation’s drug laws. We thank the President for his remarks and urge his Administration to push ahead with rescheduling.” 

Cannabis Pardons and President Biden

Thousands of people received one of Biden’s pardons for federal cannabis possession convictions under two announcements issued in 2022 and in February. The Justice Department issued certificates to eligible people who applied for the pardons, but the certificates actually read “the pardon means that you’re forgiven, but you still have a criminal record.”

Former prisoner Weldon Angelos corrected Biden’s comment, adding that possession generally never leads to jail time alone. “Nobody goes to jail for use or simple possession,” Angelos posted on X. “But those imprisoned federally for marijuana felonies shouldn’t be forced to serve out the remainder of their decades long sentences either so please commute their sentences as you promised when you were running for president. 

Before Thursday’s State of the Union address, The Sentencing Project urged President Biden to remember his 2020 campaign promises to oppose mandatory minimum sentences and significantly reduce the prison population.

“America surpassed the grim milestone of 50 years of mass incarceration, with the prison population growing nearly 500% since 1973,” said Kara Gotsch, executive director for The Sentencing Project. “Today, almost 2 million individuals, and disproportionately Black Americans, are incarcerated in our nation’s prisons and jails. The U.S. incarcerates more of its citizens—for longer periods of time—than any other major democratic country in the world.” 

“President Biden promised four years ago to reduce federal incarceration levels by 50% and to oppose mandatory minimum sentences. We urge the president to keep those promises, and to scale up solutions that actually make communities safer, such as good schools, affordable childcare, broadly accessible mental health services, more effective and widely available substance use treatment programs, and more support for vulnerable children and youth. 

“Americans deserve safety, security, and community-based solutions that will build up our communities and actually stop the cycle of crime. We can get there if we put evidence-based solutions over politics, thriving communities over extreme sentences, and rehabilitation over punishment.”

In addition, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand told High Times last that rescheduling cannabis under schedule III would do little by simply moving it to a less restrictive category. A recent survey found broad support across demographics and suggested Biden could see an 11% favorability boost if it occurs.

The post In State of the Union Address, Biden Vows to Review Federal Reclassification of Pot appeared first on High Times.

The post In State of the Union Address, Biden Vows to Review Federal Reclassification of Pot appeared first on Paradise Found.

California cannabis prisoner Luke Scarmazzo was freed from prison on Feb. 3, with help from Mission Green, a campaign led by The Weldon Project. “Today, after serving nearly 15 years in prison for operating a cannabis dispensary, I was granted my freedom,” Scarmazzo wrote on his Facebook page. “The feeling is surreal. We’ve worked toward this day for so long. This was a huge victory for my family, friends, community and the entire cannabis movement. I’ll take a moment to enjoy this, but make no mistake, there’s still much work to be done—my people need to be free—and that hard work begins now.”

Scarmazzo owned a Modesto-based dispensary, called the California Healthcare Collective (CHC), with Ricardo Montes in 2004. In September 2006, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) raided CHC and Scarmazzo and Montes, who were 26 at the time, were found guilty in 2008. Ultimately Scarmazzo was sentenced to 21 years and 10 months, and Montes was sentenced to 20 years. Montes was later pardoned by former President Barack Obama in 2017, but Scarmazzo remained in prison.

Scarmazzo petitioned for release in January 2021, but was denied. On Facebook, he shared the details of his life in prison after the denial. “I have been in this quarantine unit in a federal penitentiary at Yazoo City, Mississippi for 91 days. When I arrived here prison officials lied and told me I’d only be here the standard 14 days. This, despite me being ‘COVID recovered’ in September 2020, with at least a temporary acquired natural immunity,” Scarmazzo wrote. “I’m locked into my cell 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Out of 168 hour week, I’m allowed out of my cell for 3 hours to take a shower and use the phone; the other 165 I’m in a concrete box. I haven’t felt the warm sun or inhaled a breath of fresh air in over 3 months. I’m fed enough to be kept alive and confined in frigid temperatures. And these are just a few of the blatant constitutional and human rights violations that I endure daily without just cause.”

During his sentence, Scarmazzo met Weldon Angelos, an inmate who was sentenced to 55 years in prison for a cannabis conviction. The two spent seven years in prison together, but eventually in 2016 Angelos was released after having served for 13 years, and received a full pardoned in December 2020. After being released, Angelos founded The Weldon Project and has continued to advocate for the release of other prisoners who are still serving time for cannabis convictions.

“Happy to announce that Luke is being released today! The judge granted compassionate release based on policy changes at the federal!” Angelos shared on Twitter the day that Scarmazzo was released.

Judge Dale Drozd issued a compassionate release order based on his case. “Defendant Scarmazzo is certainly correct when he argues that there have been ‘dramatic changes in the legal landscape concerning the sale and use of marijuana’ over the 15 years since he was sentenced, including ‘changes in [state] marijuana laws, Congress’s perspective, public sentiment, the Justice Department’s enforcement policies, and…case law.’ This is particularly true in California where [the] defendant was operating his marijuana dispensary,” Drozd wrote. “While federal law remains unchanged—still making the possession, cultivation and distribution of marijuana unlawful and subject to criminal penalties—federal prosecutions for marijuana-related offenses have been curbed significantly, particularly in states like California that have legalized those activities with some restrictions. In the undersigned’s experience, for the most part federal prosecution of marijuana offenses in California is now limited to those offenders engaged in large, unauthorized cultivation sites located on federal lands.”

Like Angelos, Scarmazzo has pledged to help others like himself be freed from prison for cannabis convictions. In October 2022, the U.S. Sentencing Commission estimated that more than 6,577 people who receive pardons from the Biden administration after President Joe Biden announced pardons for simple cannabis possession. California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced 10 pardons in December 2022, with at least two of those prisoners having cannabis convictions. Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf also recently pardoned 2,500 people in January 2023, 400 of which were convicted of nonviolent cannabis offenses.

The post California Cannabis Prisoner Luke Scarmazzo Released from Federal Prison appeared first on High Times.

The post California Cannabis Prisoner Luke Scarmazzo Released from Federal Prison appeared first on Paradise Found.

Mission Green, an initiative of justice reform advocacy group the Weldon Project, announced on Thursday that it has filed a clemency petition for Parker Coleman, who is serving a 60-year sentence in federal prison for marijuana distribution. The filing continues Mission Green’s campaign to secure the release of men and women serving time for marijuana offenses and follows President Joseph Biden’s recent announcement that he would pardon all federal convictions for simple marijuana possession.

The clemency filing is part of the efforts of Mission Green, an initiative of the Weldon Project working to free cannabis inmates from prison. The Weldon Project is headed by Weldon Angelos, who spent 13 years of a 55-year sentence in federal prison for a nonviolent marijuana conviction after a diverse group of lawmakers, legal scholars, athletes, and entertainers campaigned for his freedom.

“Since my release from prison, I have dedicated my life to securing the release of other individuals locked away for non-violent drug offenses,” Angelos said in a statement. “Parker Coleman’s case is a perfect example. He shouldn’t spend another day in prison for conduct that isn’t even criminalized anymore in much of the country. Enough is enough.”

Mission Green is working with the Academy for Justice to submit clemency petitions urging Biden to deliver on the pledge he made while campaigning for office to release those convicted of nonviolent marijuana offenses. The submission for Coleman is part of a new campaign, the Cannabis Clemency Initiative, that seeks to help people in prison for marijuana convictions, starting with those incarcerated in federal prison. The new initiative fosters collaboration between criminal justice scholars and reform advocates to achieve its ambitious goals.

Legal Scholar Drafts Clemency Petition

Coleman’s clemency petition was drafted by Erik Luna, the Amelia D. Lewis Professor of Constitutional & Criminal Law and the Founder of the Academy for Justice, a criminal justice reform program within the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University. In the petition, Luna wrote that commuting Coleman’s sentence would be a “powerful, tangible step in affirming the President’s commitment to ending federal incarceration for non-violent marijuana offenses.”

“Parker Coleman, a young African-American man, is currently serving a 60-year federal prison sentence for non-violent marijuana distribution—that is, de facto life imprisonment of a person of color for conduct now authorized under state laws across the nation and openly pursued as a business by the multi-billion dollar cannabis industry,” Luna wrote. “Mr. Coleman’s sentence is not only a troubling example of racial and class disparities in federal drug enforcement, it’s excessive compared to the terms imposed in related cases or that would be imposed in state court today.”

In 2014, Coleman was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison on marijuana trafficking and money laundering charges plus an additional 30 consecutive years for a nonviolent firearms offense. The clemency petition argues that the sentence is excessive in an era of widespread cannabis policy reform, noting that Coleman has taken steps to rehabilitate himself and improve his life while behind bars.

“His effective life sentence is also inconsistent with recent reforms in law and policy, as well as a sea change in public opinion, all of which point away from incarcerating people like Mr. Coleman for non-violent drug offenses and toward a non-punitive approach to marijuana,” the petition reads. “Despite the injustice of his sentence, Mr. Coleman has worked hard on rehabilitation and self-improvement. His successful record while incarcerated, along with a strong support network of family and friends, make Mr. Coleman an ideal candidate for clemency relief from an excessive and unjust sentence.”

Luna applauded President Biden’s recent pardon of federal offenses for simple marijuana possession as “a historic event in criminal justice reform and an important first step toward correcting the lingering injustices of a national drug ban.” But he added that “additional work remains to be done, especially the release of those incarcerated for non-violent marijuana-related offenses at the federal level—including Parker Coleman.”

By granting clemency in this case, Luna said, “the President would further demonstrate his commitment to correcting injustices and his belief that America truly is the land of second chances.”

Clemency Petition Backed By Glass House Brands

The clemency petition is backed by California vertically integrated cannabis company Glass House Brands and the company’s chairman and CEO, Kyle Kazan, who has been working to secure Coleman’s release for more than a year. Kazan, who is also a former police officer and a Mission Green board member, is personally supporting Coleman’s clemency bid by guaranteeing mentorship, meaningful employment, and housing upon his release.

In a public statement, Kazan said that “while Glass House has had revenues well in excess of $100 million for cultivation, transportation and sales of marijuana while nobody in the company has served a day in jail for it, the juxtaposition between the legal business and prisoners like Parker Coleman is jarring.”

“It is a moral imperative for me to dedicate my time and resources to redress the absurd incongruities existing today at the twilight of marijuana prohibition,” he added.

Glass House President Graham Farrar says that “Parker is a cannabis POW.”

“It is crazy that he is locked in a cage for a 60-year sentence for a non-violent cannabis charge,” Farrar wrote in an email to High Times.

“The work that Weldon Angelos and Erik Luna are doing is amazing. I’m proud that Glass House and Kyle are a part of it,” he added. “As a former police officer, Kyle’s voice is a vital one in the fight for cannabis clemency for Parker as well as the 2,700 other federal non-violent Cannabis POWs currently in prison over a plant. It is time to end the war on cannabis and let our fellow Americans go free.”

The post Mission Green Campaign Seeks Release for Cannabis Prisoner Parker Coleman appeared first on High Times.

The post Mission Green Campaign Seeks Release for Cannabis Prisoner Parker Coleman appeared first on Paradise Found.

American lives have been uprooted because of simple misdemeanor marijuana offenses—punishments for an activity that is now legal for various purposes in 38 states. But new legislation would provide the needed mechanism to help Americans clear low-level marijuana offenses at the federal level.

Congressmen Troy A. Carter, Sr. (D-LA) and Rodney Davis (R-IL) introduced The Marijuana Misdemeanor Expungement Act—bipartisan legislation that would create an expungement pathway for low-level violations of federal marijuana offenses.

It would provide “an expedited, orderly process that clears the deck of non-felony marijuana offenses” in the federal system, according to a July 29 press release.

Weldon Angelos, president of The Weldon Project, testified on behalf of decriminalizing cannabis at the federal level, and defended Americans suffering from the burden of past offenses on July 26 at a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting. His whole testimony can be read here. He also supported and helped to introduce the Marijuana Misdemeanor Expungement Act.

Angelos explained how federal misdemeanor charges can have the same end result as a felony when it comes to the way records impact individuals.

“One thing about the federal system is that there’s absolutely no way to expunge a record, so basically a misdemeanor in the federal system functions like a felony because it stays on your record forever—unlike most of the 50 states which have some kind of mechanism to expunge a low-level possession cannabis offenes,” Angelos tells High Times. “The federal system has nothing. So it stays on your record for life.”

Other similar bills have been introduced, but Angelos explained how the bills could potentially work together. Last December, Congressman Dave Joyce (OH-14), co-chair of the House Cannabis Caucus, and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14) introduced the Harnessing Opportunities by Pursuing Expungement (HOPE) Act. This bipartisan bill aims to help states with expunging cannabis offenses by reducing the financial and administrative burden of such efforts through federal grants.

“Me and Professor [Erik] Luna came up with the idea because Congress right now can’t pass something comprehensive,” Angelos says. “So we tried to find something that Republicans would be okay with, and that would still be some kind of progress, and something that also the Democrats could couple with—something like the HOPE Act or the SAFE Banking Act. It’s so that we can get something done this year, and that’s really the idea.”

“I want to thank the cosponsors for introducing this important legislation, which offers an approach to marijuana expungement that is coherent, efficient, and just—all without threatening public safety,” said Professor Erik Luna, who founded the Academy for Justice at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University.

Angelos explained that federal misdemeanor offenses impact him personally.

“I know three people—personally—who have been charged with federal marijuana misdemeanor charges. And this is from 2003 or so, and it still shows up when they do background checks.”

“Today it still impacts them.”

Congressmen Carter and Davis applauded the bill as co-sponsors. “I’m proud to introduce The Marijuana Misdemeanor Expungement Act, bipartisan legislation that will restore justice to millions of Americans who have suffered inordinate collateral consequences associated with marijuana-related misdemeanors,” said Congressman Carter. “These misdemeanors—even without a conviction—can result in restrictions to peoples’ ability to access educational aid, housing assistance, occupational licensing and even foster parenting. Delivering justice for our citizens who have been impacted by marijuana-related misdemeanors is a key component of comprehensive cannabis reform.”

“Given the number of states, like Illinois, where marijuana has long been legalized for adult-use, we must ensure that our criminal justice system keeps pace so that individuals with low-level misdemeanor violations related to its use does not preclude them from getting jobs and participating in society,” said Congressman Davis.

In addition, broad bills to decriminalize cannabis at the federal level are making their way through the legislative process. Last April, the House passed the MORE Act, which was introduced by Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), but the bill faces an uncertain future in the Senate. The House also passed the SAFE Banking Act recently to allow legal cannabis businesses to use banking services.

The post Bipartisan Bill Would Clear Federal Marijuana Misdemeanor Records appeared first on High Times.

The post Bipartisan Bill Would Clear Federal Marijuana Misdemeanor Records appeared first on Paradise Found.

Today Glass House Brands announced a $25,000 donation to continue its support of The Weldon Project’s ongoing mission to assist individuals incarcerated for nonviolent, cannabis-related offenses. The company also announced that Glass House Brands Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO Kyle Kazan has joined the Board of Directors of The Weldon Project.

The Weldon Project is a nonprofit organization co-founded by former cannabis prisoner Weldon Angelos—dedicated to both ending federal prohibition of cannabis and achieving criminal justice reform for people who are convicted of nonviolent cannabis-related offenses. The Weldon Project is an effort very near and dear to Kazan. 

“From my first meeting with him, I sensed Weldon Angelos is a very special person, driven by an intense personal commitment to right the wrongs of the War on Drugs,” Kazan told High Times. “His own experience as a federal prisoner of the drug war is the flip-side of the same destructive, misguided policy I actively enforced as a police officer in the ’90s. We share a mission to heal the unjust, unequal wounds our country has inflicted on its own citizens for decades, and we also share a view on how to accomplish that.” 

Kazan shares ethical values with the former prisoner—that no one belongs in prison for cannabis-related offenses. He recognizes the path forward can only be achieved in steps, beginning with clemency efforts and policy change.

“The very first step is to make certain that no one, absolutely no one, is incarcerated for possessing a plant,” Kazan said. “And once we have accomplished that, we face the much more challenging task of welcoming and reintegrating these people into society with expungement and wraparound support services for housing and jobs. We are building a regulated cannabis industry in this country, and no one deserves to be a part of it more than those who suffered along the path to its creation. I am proud to have the privilege of working with Weldon, and I am convinced that The Weldon Project will be a powerful force for good in unlocking thousands of jail cells and restoring these peoples lives.”

In the announcement, Angelos explained how a cannabis conviction can ruin the lives of Americans—essentially reducing them to second-class citizens. With Kazan’s appointment to the Board of Directors will help move this agenda forward.

“I’m excited to welcome Kyle to our Board of Directors as his commitment to our cause along with his experience in being a Director for nonprofits will make him a valuable new member for the Weldon Project. Kyle and his team at Glass House have been valuable partners in our ongoing fight to end cannabis incarceration around the country,” Angelos stated. “Individuals convicted of cannabis offenses essentially live as second-class citizens in modern society and are stripped of their abilities to access loans, housing and professional opportunities even after they have served their sentences. We will continue to work with Glass House and our other partners to ensure that the detrimental effects of cannabis prohibition are relics of the past.”

Glass House Brands and The Weldon Project collaborated to push for policy change and clemency programs. Glass House will help to raise funds for The Weldon Project and petition the Biden administration to free all federal nonviolent cannabis prisoners. 

To do this, they will highlight the case of Parker Coleman, who is serving a 60-year federal sentence on a nonviolent cannabis conspiracy conviction. In January, Glass House also issued an open letter to former President Donald J. Trump, urging him to pardon Coleman. The case has gained support from Russ, Tory Lanez, NBA veteran Al Harrington and San Diego Padres pitcher Keone Kela.

The Weldon Project

The project sprung from dire consequences. Salt Lake City, Utah native Weldon Angelos received a mandatory minimum 55-year federal sentence for a nonviolent cannabis-related offense. His case was ignored by the United States Supreme Court, despite ongoing pleas from advocates. His sentence was finally commuted by former President Barack Obama in 2016 after serving 13 years in prison. In 2020, former President Trump granted him full pardon. His conviction’s reversal only happened due to the incessant lobbying from advocates including Snoop Dogg, political analyst Van Jones, Utah Senator Mike Lee and Koch Industries. 

But The Weldon Project’s goal is to extend those freedoms to other prisoners serving hard time for similar nonviolent offenses.

The Weldon Project sent a letter on September 14 to President Joe Biden requesting a full, complete and unconditional pardon to all persons subject to federal criminal or civil enforcement based on nonviolent cannabis offenses. Glass House joined over 150 signatories that supported the letter to the president.

Glass House also produced a live panel discussion on the topic, hosted by cannabis reporter Mona Zhang and featuring Killer Mike, Angelos and Kazan, as well as rapper Ralo, who joined the conversation remotely from Clayton County Detention Center in Ashland, Alabama. Ralo is currently serving time for a nonviolent cannabis offense. 

The post Glass House Brands Donates $25,000 to The Weldon Project appeared first on High Times.

The post Glass House Brands Donates $25,000 to The Weldon Project appeared first on Paradise Found.