Kamala Harris inflates the number of pardons for marijuana that Biden has given

Figures from the Department of Justice show that Vice President Kamala Harris is lying about the number of people who have been pardoned for simple possession of marijuana under the Biden administration.

Recently, Harris stated that the current administration has “pardoned tens of thousands of people with federal convictions for simple marijuana possession.” However, official figures show a very different picture.

A February report from Marijuana Moment indicated that only about 13,000 people have received relief thanks to clemency proclamations made by President Joe Biden in October 2022 and December 2023. However, only a few of those people have submitted the necessary documentation to obtain their pardon certificates. In fact, according to the Department of Justice, the Office of the Pardon Attorney has issued only 205 certificates of pardon to people who qualify under Biden’s proclamations.

It is important to highlight that although relief from pardons is automatic and does not necessarily require certificates, the latter can facilitate employment opportunities and expand access to housing and education.

Does Harris’ exaggerated figure have any justification?

According to an analysis by Reason, Harris’ estimate of “tens of thousands” of pardons is unfounded.

The report indicates that, in 2022, Biden offered pardons to people with convictions for possession of marijuana according to the DC Code and 21 USC 844. Still, according to a White House official, at that time, only a few thousand people had been federally convicted of marijuana possession under the DC Code. Likewise, the United States Sentencing Commission (USSC) indicated that only 7,500 citizens and 1,200 residents/legal aliens were convicted under federal law from 1992 to 2021.

Although pardons were expanded in 2023 to include people who violated additional laws related to marijuana possession, Harris herself indicated at the time that this measure could also cover “thousands of people.”

“Even if you include people who committed these offenses prior to FY 1992, there would have to be about 10,000 of them who are still alive to justify Harris’ estimate,” Reason stated, noting that the USSC found less than 9,000 cases of this kind in three decades and that Biden’s expansion of pardons might have added only a few thousand more to this figure.

In short, the total number of people eligible for pardons for marijuana possession appears to be considerably lower than the numbers Kamala Harris has suggested on more than one occasion during her speeches.