FRANKFORT, Ky. (LEX 18) — In addition to pardoning all prior federal offenses of simple possession of marijuana, President Joe Biden is urging governors to take action on the state level.
"No one should be in jail just for using or possessing marijuana," he said on Thursday.
So, the question in Kentucky is — will Governor Andy Beshear take action?
"The Governor agrees that no one should be in jail simply because of possession of marijuana," Beshear's spokesperson, Scottie Ellis, said on Friday.
But the governor's office noted that the White House "has not briefed our office on exactly what his pardons may require and the specific details of what they will and will not cover."
However, Beshear's spokesperson said the plan will be reviewed when the details are made available.
"The Governor looks forward to reviewing those details when available in his larger analysis on medical cannabis and how to move forward when the vast majority of Kentuckians demand it," said Ellis.
Meanwhile, advocates are urging Beshear to take action in Kentucky.
In a joint statement, the ACLU of Kentucky, the Kentucky State Conference of the NAACP, Minorities for Medical Marijuana, Kentucky NORML, the Kentucky Cannabis Freedom Coalition, and state Representative Nima Kulkarni emphasized state pardons "would immediately help more than 7,000 of our citizens, many of whom are people of color."
"Despite clear evidence showing cannabis usage among races is largely the same, minorities are still four times more likely to be arrested nationally, and 10 times more likely in Kentucky, which is a travesty," the statement reads. " Such a broad state pardon — which the Kentucky Supreme Court has upheld as legal in principle — would better balance the scales of justice while effectively stopping future prosecutions."
In addition to the White House's plan, the president has ordered the U.S. attorney general and the secretary of Health and Human Services to review how marijuana is scheduled under federal law.
It's currently classified as a Schedule I drug. It's in the same category as heroin and LSD.
"Too many lives have been upended because of our failed approach to marijuana," Biden stated. "It’s time that we right these wrongs."
