#marijuana convictions

[politicalantibody]

The rest of those convicted of smoking pot were given the option of going to school instead of prison. When they graduated, their records were wiped clean. A creative solution, and not a bad deal, in my opinion!

Laying a racist construct built by white men at the feet of one woman is ridiculous.

[arctic-hands]

It's really fucking funny living in a blue state during marijuana decriminalization bc I now have multiple doctors encouraging me to take cannabis for my chronic pain ten years after an entire childhood of being told just smoking a joint once would ruin my entire life as I descend into drugged out debauchery

[infinitelytheheartexpands]

doing my civic duty!!!

[afeelgoodblog]

The Best News of Last Year - 2023 Edition

Welcome to our special edition newsletter recapping the best news from the past year. I've picked one highlight from each month to give you a snapshot of 2023. No frills, just straightforward news that mattered. Let's relive the good stuff that made our year shine.

January - London: Girl with incurable cancer recovers after pioneering treatment

A girl’s incurable cancer has been cleared from her body after what scientists have described as the most sophisticated cell engineering to date.

2. February - Utah legislature unanimously passes ban on LGBTQ conversion therapy

The Utah State Legislature has unanimously approved a bill that enshrines into law a ban on LGBTQ conversion therapy.

3. March - First vaccine for honeybees could save billions

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has approved the world’s first-ever vaccine intended to address the global decline of honeybees. It will help protect honeybees from American foulbrood, a contagious bacterial disease which can destroy entire colonies.

4. April - Fungi discovered that can eat plastic in just 140 days

Australian scientists have successfully used backyard mould to break down one of the world's most stubborn plastics — a discovery they hope could ease the burden of the global recycling crisis within years. 

5. May - Ocean Cleanup removes 200,000th kilogram of plastic from the Pacific Ocean

The Dutch offshore restoration project, Ocean Cleanup, says it has reached a milestone. The organization's plastic catching efforts have now fished more than 200,000 kilograms of plastic out of the Pacific Ocean, Ocean Cleanup said on Twitter.

6. June - U.S. judge blocks Florida ban on care for trans minors in narrow ruling, says ‘gender identity is real’

A federal judge temporarily blocked portions of a new Florida law that bans transgender minors from receiving puberty blockers, ruling Tuesday that the state has no rational basis for denying patients treatment.

7. July - World’s largest Phosphate deposit discovered in Norway

A massive underground deposit of high-grade phosphate rock in Norway, pitched as the world’s largest, is big enough to satisfy world demand for fertilisers, solar panels and electric car batteries over the next 50 years, according to the company exploiting the resource.

8. August - Successful room temperature ambient-pressure magnetic levitation of LK-99

If the claim by Sukbae Lee and Ji-Hoon Kim of South Korea’s Quantum Energy Research Centre holds up, the material could usher in all sorts of technological marvels, such as levitating vehicles and perfectly efficient electrical grids.

9. September - World’s 1st drug to regrow teeth enters clinical trials

The ability to regrow your own teeth could be just around the corner. A team of scientists, led by a Japanese pharmaceutical startup, are getting set to start human trials on a new drug that has successfully grown new teeth in animal test subjects.

10. October - Nobel Prize goes to scientists behind mRNA Covid vaccines

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to a pair of scientists who developed the technology that led to the mRNA Covid vaccines. Professors Katalin Kariko and Drew Weissman will share the prize.

11. November - No cases of cancer caused by HPV in Norwegian 25-year olds, the first cohort to be mass vaccinated for HPV.

Last year there were zero cases of cervical cancer in the group that was vaccinated in 2009 against the HPV virus, which can cause the cancer in women.

12. December - President Biden announces he’s pardoning all convictions of federal marijuana possession

President Joe Biden announced Friday he's issuing a federal pardon to every American who has used marijuana in the past, including those who were never arrested or prosecuted.

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And there you have it – a year's worth of uplifting news! I hope these positive stories brought a bit of joy to your inbox. As I wrap up this special edition, I want to thank all my supporters!

Buy me a coffee ❤️

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

[guardianspirits13]

"His son is a convicted felon" says man avoiding question about his own 32 fucking felonies

*34, forgive me. Crazy that there are still people incarcerated for Marijuana posession while this piece of human garbage is running for command of this country's laws and military

[reasonandempathy]

Walz has served as Minnesota’s governor since 2019 after 12 years in the House of Representatives and now chairs the Democratic Governors Association. He has built a reputation as a folksy politician who can get things done, as Minnesota has adopted a number of progressive laws during his tenure. According to a poll conducted earlier this year, Walz enjoys an approval rating of 55% among Minnesotans. Since Minnesota Democrats achieved a legislative trifecta in the 2022 elections, Walz and his allies have used their power to push a slate of progressive policies. The governor has signed bills protecting abortion access, expanding background checks for prospective gun owners and legalizing recreational marijuana. “Right now, Minnesota is showing the country you don’t win elections to bank political capital,” Walz said last year. “You win elections to burn political capital and improve lives.” That philosophy has endeared him to progressives, who threw their support behind him as the veepstakes kicked into high gear over the past two weeks. They reshared clips of Walz lovingly mocking his daughter’s vegetarianism and tinkering with his car to paint him as the dad that America needs right now.

This is fucking awesome! Honestly, sincerely good news and a very promising pick for the potential Harris Administration. An aggressive, unabashed, popular, populist left-winger with a track record of enacting real, substantive help for people is capital-G Great.

What has he done, specifically?

Abortion rights

In a 1995 ruling, the Minnesota Supreme Court upheld abortion rights in Minnesota. In January 2023, Walz signed the PRO Act (Protect Reproductive Options Act) into law, making abortion a "fundamental right," as well as access to contraception, fertility treatments, sterilization and other reproductive health care.

The law made Minnesota the first state to codify abortion rights in the aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court's 2022 ruling in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which nullified Roe. v. Wade after nearly 50 years of precedent. In April 2023, Walz signed the Reproductive Freedom Defense Act into law, shielding women and providers from any legal action originating from the patient's state.

Pro-LGBTQIA+ legislation

In March 2023, Walz signed an executive order to protect the right of residents to have access to gender-affirming health care. Weeks later, he signed the "Trans Refuge" bill, banning the enforcement of arrest warrants, extradition requests and out-of-state subpoenas for those who traveled to Minnesota for care.

"When someone else is given basic rights, others don't lose theirs," Walz said. "We aren't cutting a pie here. We're giving basic rights to every single Minnesotan."

Paid family, medical and sick leave

In May 2023, Walz signed a law creating a state-run program to provide paid family and medical leave for Minnesota workers, funded by a 0.7% payroll tax on employers, by 2026.

Legalization of recreational marijuana

In May 2023, Minnesota became the 23rd state in the nation to legalize recreational cannabis use. Three months later, people 21 and older could start to possess certain amounts of marijuana at home and on their person, in addition to legally growing up to eight plants at a time.

Restoration of voting rights for former felons

In March 2023, Walz signed a bill that restored the right to vote to more than 50,000 convicted felons who had already served their time.

Universal school meals

Amid the increase in food insecurity for many Minnesotans during the pandemic, and the subsequent strain on the state's food shelves that remains to this day, Walz signed a bill in March 2023 that ensures all K-12 students in the state have access to free breakfast and lunch on school days.

Do you know what makes this even better?

Fuck 'Em. I know negative partisanship is important and can help motivate right-wingers to vote, but they're going to vote anyway. And him being afraid of Walz is just a sign that he's a good pick, in policy and politics.

[batboyblog]

I seen people on Twitter, leftist I think, accusing Harris of giving unfair sentences for weed possession in the past. Could I ask you how true that is since you seem knowledgeable about this?

hello

the true story is, in the 7 years Harris was San Fran DA 45 people were sentenced to state prison for marijuana convictions, compared to 135 in the 8 years under the DA before her.

the head of her drug enforcement department said “Our policy was that no one with a marijuana conviction for mere possession could do any (jail time) at all,”

Link

So the true story is that, years before "decriminalization" of possession was a thing people were pushing leftie DAs to do, Harris was doing in in the 2000s

Some people are mad she was against a 2010 ballot measure to legalize (she objected to their failure to have anything about driving while high) and remained neutral as part of her job as California AG on a 2016 ballot measure (the AG's office has to write official explainers of ballot measures that are sent to Cali voters and she felt it was unfair for her to weigh in)

But in 2018 she was endorsing legal weed in 2019 she pushed her own legalization bill that would also wipe out offensives she got a lot of good press from pot circles at first when she ran for President because she was clearly the most pro-weed person running

Indeed President Biden was more conservative on the issue, the only candidate not sure about legalization. Now President Biden has taken big steps pardoning everyone convicted of a federal offensive and working to reschedule Marijuana from a class I to a class III (ie proscription) drug, but Harris is likely to push for a full federal legalization which would be huge

[reasonsforhope]

Article | Paywall Free

"Maryland Gov. Wes Moore issued a mass pardon of more than 175,000 marijuana convictions Monday morning [June 17, 2024], one of the nation’s most sweeping acts of clemency involving a drug now in widespread recreational use.

The pardons forgive low-level marijuana possession charges for an estimated 100,000 people in what the Democratic governor said is a step to heal decades of social and economic injustice that disproportionately harms Black and Brown people. Moore noted criminal records have been used to deny housing, employment and education, holding people and their families back long after their sentences have been served.

[Note: If you're wondering how 175,000 convictions were pardoned but only 100,000 people are benefiting, it's because there are often multiple convictions per person.]

A Sweeping Act

“We aren’t nibbling around the edges. We are taking actions that are intentional, that are sweeping and unapologetic,” Moore said at an Annapolis event interrupted three times by standing ovations. “Policymaking is powerful. And if you look at the past, you see how policies have been intentionally deployed to hold back entire communities.”

Moore called the scope of his pardons “the most far-reaching and aggressive” executive action among officials nationwide who have sought to unwind criminal justice inequities with the growing legalization of marijuana. Nine other states and multiple cities have pardoned hundreds of thousands of old marijuana convictions in recent years, according to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. Legalized marijuana markets reap billions in revenue for state governments each year, and polls show public sentiment on the drug has also turned — with more people both embracing cannabis use and repudiating racial disparities exacerbated by the War on Drugs.

The pardons, timed to coincide with Wednesday’s Juneteenth holiday, a day that has come to symbolize the end of slavery in the United States, come from a rising star in the Democratic Party and the lone Black governor of a U.S. state whose ascent is built on the promise to “leave no one behind.”

The Pardons and Demographics

Derek Liggins, 57, will be among those pardoned Monday, more than 16 years after his last day in prison for possessing and dealing marijuana in the late 1990s. Despite working hard to build a new life after serving time, Liggins said he still loses out on job opportunities and potential income.

“You can’t hold people accountable for possession of marijuana when you’ve got a dispensary on almost every corner,” he said.

Nationwide, according to the ACLU, Black people were more than three times more likely than White people to be arrested for marijuana possession. President Biden in 2022 issued a mass pardon of federal marijuana convictions — a reprieve for roughly 6,500 people — and urged governors to follow suit in states, where the vast majority of marijuana prosecutions take place.

Maryland’s pardon action rivals only Massachusetts, where the governor and an executive council together issued a blanket pardon in March expected to affect hundreds of thousands of people.

But Moore’s pardons appear to stand alone in the impact to communities of color in a state known for having one of the nation’s worst records for disproportionately incarcerating Black people for any crimes. More than 70 percent of the state’s male incarcerated population is Black, according to state data, more than double their proportion in society.

In announcing the pardons, he directly addressed how policies in Maryland and nationwide have systematically held back people of color — through incarceration and restricted access to jobs and housing...

Maryland, the most diverse state on the East Coast, has a dramatically higher concentration of Black people compared with other states that have issued broad pardons for marijuana: 33 percent of Maryland’s population is Black, while the next highest is Illinois, with 15 percent...

Reducing the state’s mass incarceration disparity has been a chief goal of Moore, Brown and Maryland Public Defender Natasha Dartigue, who are all the first Black people to hold their offices in the state. Brown and Dartigue have launched a prosecutor-defender partnership to study the “the entire continuum of the criminal system,” from stops with law enforcement to reentry, trying to detect all junctures where discretion or bias could influence how justice is applied, and ultimately reform it.

How It Will Work

Maryland officials said the pardons, which would also apply to people who are dead, will not result in releasing anyone from incarceration because none are imprisoned. Misdemeanor cannabis charges yield short sentences and prosecutions for misdemeanor criminal possession have stopped, as possessing small amounts of the drug is legal statewide.

Moore’s pardon action will automatically forgive every misdemeanor marijuana possession charge the Maryland judiciary could locate in the state’s electronic court records system, along with every misdemeanor paraphernalia charge tied to use or possession of marijuana. Maryland is the only state to pardon such paraphernalia charges, state officials said...

People who benefit from the mass pardon will see the charges marked in state court records within two weeks, and they will be eliminated from criminal background check databases within 10 months."

-via The Washington Post, June 17, 2024. Headings added by me.

[pennylane-dreams]

On January 16 1980, Paul McCartney and the Wings arrived In Tokyo for upcoming 11-dates Wings tour in Japan. Customs Officials found 219 grams (7.7 ounces) of cannabis in Paul’s luggage and arrested him.

Paul was sent to the local jail and spent 9 days there while the Japanese government decided on what to do with him. He was facing a possible seven-year sentence for smuggling if convicted.

"When the fellow pulled it out of the suitcase, he looked more embarrassed than me. I think he just wanted to put it back in and forget the whole thing, you know, but there it was. I didn’t try to hide it. I had just come from America and still had the American attitude that marijuana isn’t that bad. I didn’t realize just how strict the Japanese attitude is. I made a confession on the night I was arrested and apologized for breaking Japanese law, but they still wanted to know everything. I had to go through my whole life story—school, father’s name, income, even my medal from the Queen." Paul McCartney

While in jail, Paul was known as inmate #22 and impressed the guards with his politeness. He passed the time with exercising, talking to other prisoners and overall, Paul said he was treated well. On the sixth day, Linda was allowed to visit, giving him clothes and new books.

"It’s really very silly. People certainly are different over here. They take it so very seriously. Paul is now in some kind of detention place and I have not been allowed to see him. As soon as they get someone nice like Paul, they seem to make a field day of it! I’ll never come back to Japan again. It’s my first trip and my last!" Linda McCartney

On the eighth day, the Japanese government decided to immediately deport Paul without charges. On January 25th, Paul was released from the jail, placed in a car and was driven straight to the airport when Linda, his children and fellow Wings members were waiting for him and flew back to England.

George Harrison was the only Beatle to send a telegram to the McCartneys during the nine days:

Thinking of you with all love. Keep your spirits high. Nice to have you back home again soon. God bless. Love, George and Olivia.

According to a housekeeper of the Lennon's, John's supposed reaction was, "If he really needs weed, surely there's enough people who can carry it for him. You're a Beatle, boy, a Beatle. Your face is in every damn corner of the planet. How could you have been so stupid."

Years later, Paul has acknowledged the foolish of his decision and the challenges he faced during that period. Paul did return to Japan in 1990 for a tour without incident.

[gongyoosgf]

SOME INFORMATION FROM THE INTERVIEW:

Choi Seung-hyun, formerly known as rapper T.O.P from K-pop juggernaut Big Bang, marked his return to the screen after an 11-year hiatus in season two of "Squid Game."

Previously embroiled in a scandal following a conviction for marijuana use that led to a 10-month suspended jail sentence in 2017, Choi's journey back to the limelight may be a tale of self-reflection.

In the newest season of "Squid Game," Choi portrays Thanos, a failed rapper addicted to drugs who enters the deadly games to escape crippling debt. A character at once selfish and absurd, Thanos delivers a kaleidoscope of exaggerated emotions and awkward bravado, a performance that has sparked both intrigue and polarized reactions.

During a group interview Wednesday, Choi opened up with emotional gravity befitting his first public conversation in over a decade.

“Since it’s my first interview in 11 years, a lot has happened, and I came here with careful consideration, thinking it was the right time. I feel a mix of emotions, including a sense of apology, but today, I sincerely want to share many honest thoughts in this space,” he said.

Reflecting on the turbulent years since his departure from the public eye, Choi spoke about his personal struggles.

“In my 20s, I made huge mistakes, and the dark times I faced then led me down a path I had never been on before. What followed was a truly hellish period of darkness, during which I became emotionally devastated,” he said. "I experienced profound psychological deterioration and intense self-loathing."

It was during these times of desolation that the opportunity to audition for "Squid Game" emerged.

“Then I received an offer to audition for the role of Thanos. Like any other actor, I recorded a video and sent it in. After meeting with the director and going through several rounds of cross-checks, I was cast,” he recounted.

“If it hadn’t been Thanos, I wouldn’t have taken on the role. It was an extremely difficult decision for me, given my past mistakes. But Thanos was a character I had to confront head on -- not a righteous figure, but a stereotypically failed, pathetic hip-hop loser. That aspect gave me the courage to step forward.”

Stepping into the shoes of a character like Thanos proved a formidable psychological challenge, he said.

“The film set had hundreds of actors and crew members present. When we shot the scene where Thanos takes drugs, I found myself in a very embarrassing situation, which was quite psychologically challenging for me," said Choi.

"However, I believed it was my responsibility to overcome this as part of my role, and that determination was what kept me going,” he explained.

Critics have been divided on Choi’s portrayal of Thanos, with some viewers describing the performance as overtly exaggerated and unnatural -- a critique that Choi readily embraced. “Acting and characters are things that can draw mixed reactions and can be highly subjective, and they are elements that audiences may criticize, and I believe enduring such criticism is something I must accept," he said.

The concept behind Thanos, as Choi elaborated, was the essence of failure personified.

“He’s portrayed as a failed member of the 'MZ' generation, full of cringeworthy behavior and over-the-top bravado, like a teenager stuck in a phase of childish delusions of grandeur," he said.

"He’s a character whose body has grown, but his mental age is almost like that of Shin-chan,” he said, referring to the 5-year-old main character of Japanese manga series "Crayon Shin-chan."

Going forward, as for any speculation about a return to Big Bang, Choi quashed the idea.

“Regarding moving forward on my own, I felt that if I faced criticism and backlash, it was something I could endure alone. However, as long as I remained part of Big Bang, the guilt could not be erased, and I believed I could no longer let the team suffer because of me," he said.

"The reason I cannot return is, honestly, because I feel too ashamed to face the other members.”

Nevertheless, Choi hinted at a possible return to music as a solo artist.

“For the past 10 years, I’ve only been going back and forth between my home and my music studio. The reason I stayed in the studio was that creating music was the only time I felt like I could escape the darkness,” he shared.

“I made a lot of songs. There’s no exact release plan yet, but I do have something in mind for the near future," he added.

———————————————————————

i just wanted to say that he is so brave for coming out and finally talking about what happened so many years ago, and he is truly inspiring. i don’t make sappy posts like this often but it makes me so happy to see him not continue to hide in the shadows and instead come out and finally be able to stand in front of interviewers and talk like he used to ♡

[oliviawebsite]

its crazy that our shitty idiot president could blanket pardon every single person with marijuana convictions but instead he chooses to pardon his idiot failson and a judge who used his position to profit off trafficking children into private prisons. what a legacy!

[dicapiito]

For all those who still believe that “ Harris is a Cop” bullshit misinformation that started to spread in 2019/2020.

Time to unlearn what you think you know about Vice President Kamala Harris:

⬇️⬇️Links and graphics ⬇️⬇️

And lovely reminders as to what she’s accomplished as Vice President

Credit to:

P.S

Her stance on Palestine

[femsolid]

You know what I'm tired of seeing Snoop Dogg appear in memes and videos and movies and award shows like he's some endearing funny rapper who's cool and chill because he smokes tones of weed. He's a fucking rapist, a human trafficker and a misogynistic piece of shit.

"Snoop has an extensive criminal history, including convictions for drugs and weapons related offences and involuntary manslaughter, as well as by his own admission, pimping and trafficking women for sex. Snoop also reportedly lured two underage girls into exposing themselves on film by offering them marijuana and ecstasy.

Snoop’s lyrics glorify violence against women. He refers to women as ‘bitches’ and ‘hoes’ who ‘suck d****’. His songs include ‘Break a bitch ’til the day i die’ and ‘Can you control yo hoe? where he describes beating women who do not obey him, who need to learn their place."

Haha cute go fuck yourself

[eugenedebs1920]

Good for him!! It’s the only illicit thing he’s done. The utterly useless waste of taxpayer money, and the countless hours that could have been spent doing something useful by James Comer and all those idiots, is astounding! Because they couldn’t find any dirt on Biden, after a decade of trying, they went after his drug addict son. I don’t know how many of you out there have had substance abuse problems, but when you’re balls deep in a good addiction, you don’t admit to yourself, or anyone else that you have a drug problem. To go after Hunter for checking no on a box asking if you smoke marijuana (which is a ridiculous question) or have drug use problems, and federally charging him for MAYBE being under the influence of drugs, it’s petty and dumb. If he was anyone else, no one would know, and no one would care. I don’t know much about the tax evasion charges but… Still. The crap Hunter, Joe and the whole Biden family went through because Joe Biden didn’t have skeletons in his closet, is deserving of a pardon.

The Biden crime family! Thats f*ckin HILARIOUS!!!!! Trump is, by far, to the tenth degree, the most corrupt, criminal, seditious person to EVER rise to the highest office in the land! And just to show how absolutely stupid this country is, he (supposedly) got elected TWICE! For double the corruption and unethical behavior. The whole Trump 2.0 administration is sexual assailants, felons, flat out criminals, compromised Russian assets, sycophants, family members, and unqualified trump loyalists. F*ck Trump!!

Good job Joe! Another splendid thing you accomplished while in office. We forgive the lie you told. F*ck!!! We heard over 30 thousand last Trump term, wouldn’t surprise me if Trump doubled that this time.

Love ya Joe!! ☮️🇺🇸

[afeelgoodblog]

The Best News of Last Week - 13 November

🦔 - Who knew Attenborough's echidna was just camera-shy?

1. New state law prevents animal abuse offenders from owning pets

The law bans those convicted of animal cruelty, including those involved with dogfighting, from owning any kind of animal for five years after their first criminal offense.

2. A door at a Swedish library was accidentally left open — 446 people came in, borrowed 245 books. Every single one was returned

The library was supposed to be closed for All Saints Day — a celebration sometimes also called All Hallows Day, the precursor of Halloween. But the library staff had forgotten to close a door. So people came in, thinking the library was open. Some visitors realized the library was technically closed and went home, but others did not.

3. Ohio votes to legalize marijuana for adult recreational use, becoming 24th state to do so

Ohio voters approved a measure legalizing recreational marijuana on Tuesday, defying Republican legislative leaders who had failed to pass the proposed law.

Passage of Issue 2 makes Ohio the 24th state to allow adult cannabis use for non-medical purposes.

4. First ever images prove 'lost echidna' not extinct

Scientists have filmed an ancient egg-laying mammal named after Sir David Attenborough for the first time, proving it isn't extinct as was feared.

An expedition to Indonesia led by Oxford University researchers recorded four three-second clips of Attenborough's long-beaked echidna. Spiky, furry and with a beak, echidnas have been called "living fossils".

They are thought to have emerged about 200 million years ago, when dinosaurs roamed the Earth.

5. Dog leads family to missing cat that fell into 30-metre mineshaft

An incredibly lucky cat has his canine companion to thank for saving his life after the dog led rescuers to a 30 metre-deep mineshaft the cat fell into.

The cat, Mowgli, disappeared on Oct. 20 and had been missing for six days. Owner Michele Rose told the BBC that she had “almost given up hope” of finding her cat.

6. World’s first whole eye and partial face transplant gives Arkansas man new hope

A surgical team at NYU Langone Health in New York has performed the world’s first successful whole-eye transplant in a living person: Aaron James.

After an accident at work led to the loss of his left eye and part of his face, Aaron was given a new window to his soul, as well as a partial face transplant.

7. Obesity drug Wegovy cut risk of serious heart problems by 20%, study finds

The popular weight-loss drug Wegovy reduced the risk of serious heart problems by 20% in a large, international study that experts say could change the way doctors treat certain heart patients.

The research is the first to document that an obesity medication can not only pare pounds, but also safely prevent a heart attack, stroke or a heart-related death in people who already have heart disease — but not diabetes.

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That's it for this week :)

This newsletter will always be free. If you liked this post you can support me with a small kofi donation here:

Buy me a coffee ❤️

Also don’t forget to reblog this post with your friends.

[hellstobetsy]

Just in: Biden issues a full and unconditional pardon for all US citizens or permanent residents who has committed or been (federally) convicted of simple possession of marijuana, which can often pose barriers to employment, housing, or education.

This does not affect a huge number of people (since Biden can't pardon state crimes), but still, something nice has happened today.