Xzibit has seen the news of Biden’s pardoning of marijuana possession on a federal level. The rapper celebrates the news, but says there is more work to be done.
“This is something is crazy because we are seeing an industry now with people building billion-dollar industries, and people are sitting in jail for the exact same thing,” Xzibit said to TMZ. “This is a great announcement. Shoutout to the DOJ for saying they want to expeditiously release these people and show some support for the President’s announcements.
Xzibit also made clear to the Hip-Hop community that anybody with a state or federal marijuana conviction would be freed from jail, but citing that just over 6,000 will be released under certain federal guidelines.
“A majority of federal cannabis violations that people are in federal prison for are way more severe than possession,” Xzibit said. “This is a step in the right direction, but this isn’t the mass clemency that should happen from state and federal prisons.”
According to CNBC, the pardon applies to federal cases of “simple marijuana possession,” and President Biden urged the nation’s governors to cooperate with his action in their states.
“Just as no one should be in a federal prison solely due to the possession of marijuana, no one should be in a local jail or state prison for that reason, either,” Biden said in a statement.
According to the White House, over 6,500 individuals were impacted by Biden’s announcement, with thousands more set to receive pardons. Those pardons only apply to legal American citizens.
“There are thousands of people who were convicted for marijuana possession who may be denied employment, housing, or educational opportunities as a result,” Biden said. “My pardon will remove this burden on them.”
