The White House repeated Wednesday President Joe Biden’s belief that no one should be in jail for using illegal drugs.
“The president continues to believe that no one should be in jail because of drug use,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said when asked about Biden’s views on the use of marijuana.
Jim Brydges, a medical marijuana exemptee who is living with HIV/AIDS, smokes marijuana June 2, 2003, at a Toronto Hemp Store. Brydges can legally poses up to 150 grams of the drug for medical purposes. (David Lucas/Getty)
During the presidential campaign, Biden said he supported decriminalizing the use of marijuana.
“Number one, I think we should decriminalize marijuana, period,” Biden said on the debate stage in November 2019. “And I think everyone — anyone who has a record should be let out of jail, their records expunged, be completely zeroed out.”
Biden’s position on marijuana has changed significantly over the years.
In 2010, Biden said he believed “it would be a mistake” to legalize marijuana, and stated it was a “gateway drug.”
Psaki defended the administration’s record on drug decriminalization, noting the Drug Enforcement Agency has granted licenses for companies to cultivate marijuana for research purposes.
She said Biden also continued reviewing his executive clemency powers to reduce or eliminate federal drug sentences.
The president has not issued any pardons for criminals currently in prison since taking office, despite former presidents Donald Trump and Barack Obama both having commuted the sentences of some non-violent drug offenders.