Well! About time don’t cha think? Finally, President Biden will pardon all prior federal offenses of simple marijuana possession, the White House said Thursday, a move toward decriminalizing the drug. Furthermore, Biden is pardoning those convicted of simple cannabis possession under federal or Washington, D.C., laws.
Biden dropping marijuana charges mean new Niggas are about to drop!!!!!! 🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪
— DELO ✨ (@deloloterry) October 6, 2022
President Joe Biden’s announcement about cannabis policy reform last week emphasized how keeping it illegal disproportionately harms Black people.
“Too many lives have been upended because of our failed approach to marijuana,” he said. “It’s time that we right these wrongs.”
Some jurisdictions are considering how cannabis tax revenues could be used to address racial disparities. For example, Evanston, Illinois., is using some of its cannabis tax revenues to support slavery reparations.
As of March 2022, states reported a combined total of $11.2 billion in tax revenue from legal, adult-use cannabis sales
Nevertheless, recent growth has been fastest in states with emerging markets. California was the first state to garner tax revenue from cannabis sales as they were the first to open up weed dispensaries. Now other states have followed, including Maryland, Washington, DC and North Carolina. However, the fate of cannabis tax revenue will become increasingly intertwined with trends in cannabis prices (both Colorado and Washington tax exclusively based on the price of cannabis sold).