Potemkin Reform
By Mitch Berg
Yesterday, just in time for midterms, President Brandon “pardoned” all people in federal custody for marijuana possession charges, and urged states to do the same.
Mentioned in the closing seconds of NPR’s report on the subject: the number of people in Federal custody solely for marijuana possession is…
(checks his notes)
…zero.
Literally nobody will be affected by this bit of campaign fluffery.
But if campaigns are to be fluffed, Peggy Flanagan will be there:
It must be a month before a hotly-contested election: the Flanagan/Klink administration is making noises about legalizing weed.
October 7th, 2022 at 11:22 am
Nothing brings the electoral apathy like unrestricted drug use and cheap snacks. Big city streets are full of drugged out zombies (aka DemoCommie voters) who’d be happy to sign a blank mail-in vote for some drugs and munchies. Also, unrestricted drug use policies might kype a vote or three from libertarians. Win-win!
October 7th, 2022 at 11:31 am
Doesn’t sound like more law making by the executive?
The legislature passes laws that make drug posession illegal, Gubner Timmy Walz thinks he knows better.
“Stroke of a pen, law of the land” does not seem like the motto of a democratic political party.
What the Hell?
October 7th, 2022 at 12:01 pm
This is very good news, and a good use of power, but it’s a small step — as mentioned there are relatively few federal simple possession convictions. Until marijuana is removed from the Schedule 1 list its small ball.
It’s kind of hilarious to see Republicans like Tom Cotton attempt to law and order on marijuana when their voters are texting their kids to bring home edibles from Ann Arbor or Boulder when they come back for break.
October 7th, 2022 at 12:30 pm
I’ve pointed out to nitwits elsewhere that no one catches a federal beef for simple possession of weed. It’s always just part of overcharging a bigger case, which is what the feds do in 100% of cases.
Now, I’m all in favor of de-listing weed from scheduled narcotics. We cannot even keep dope out of high security prisons, the chances of doing it in a so-called “free society” are exactly zero.
And nothing has corroded our civil rights faster than the “war on drugs”… it’s only purpose is to keep federal alphabet agencies funded. Fuck them.
That said, unilaterally pardoning criminals without vetting the cases is something only panicked reprobates would propose. Pedo Joe didn’t think of this, he’s reading another script handed him by his handlers. It’s an idiot plan to excite idiots.
October 7th, 2022 at 12:38 pm
As the people we think are “minor league dopers” are released, we risk learning to our horror that they plea bargained down from some very serious crimes, and that releasing them starts a new wave of violent crime in our country. Ann Coulter wrote about this from a lawyer’s perspective about ten years back.
Reforming or at least partially ending the war on drugs is a great idea. Biden’s implementation, however, is horrifically bad pandering to the potheads of the electorate.
October 7th, 2022 at 1:06 pm
Victory Gin
October 7th, 2022 at 1:15 pm
The elites are wrong about everything, as usual.
This is not a moment when people are crying out that jails are full of innocent people, quite the opposite, they are crying out that the guilty are free to walk the streets and commit more crimes.
But the elites are caught in a madness spiral. They believe that crime is reduced by setting criminals free. There is no institutional mechanism on the left that can inform them that they are wrong. If any appears, it is “canceled.”
October 7th, 2022 at 1:27 pm
Marijuana does not make the world a better place, but criminalization of it makes it a worse place.
October 7th, 2022 at 1:29 pm
👆 Blow it out your ass #DaedrATcrawling
October 7th, 2022 at 1:40 pm
^^ Stop waiting for it to get easier. Learn to handle hard better.
October 7th, 2022 at 1:46 pm
Blow it.out.your ass
October 7th, 2022 at 2:00 pm
^^ I believe in the inalienable right of intellectual down-punching.
October 7th, 2022 at 2:59 pm
So, the DemoCommies were the ones that made possession illegal for political purposes in the first place (and our dumb as a box of rocks VP bragged about handing out maximum sentences for weed, as she burned a joint), now they want to pardon the people convicted of it, by largely DemoCommie judges, for political purposes. Brilliant!
October 7th, 2022 at 3:24 pm
Completely off-topic but has to be said. Good second step (actually third). Now string them all by the eyeballs and justice will finally be done. Fucking pigs.
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