The Department of Justice has started issuing certificates to those whose marijuana possession convictions were covered by President Joe Biden (D)’s mass cannabis pardon in October last year. The certificates are meant to show that clemency was granted, and could be used to avoid any obstacles in housing, employment or education.
At least some applicants received the certificates in digital format, even though neither the DOJ nor the Office of the Pardon Attorney announced the issue of the certificates. Kevin B. Gilnack posted an image of the certificate on social networking Thursday.
Gilnack, who is now a father and public affairs consultant in Massachusetts, told Marijuana Moment via email that he was arrested by federal Park Police on the day he graduated from American University in Washington, D.C. in 2006. He said he was arrested with an eighth of an inch of cannabis. This led to six months probation.
He said: “I cannot imagine the amount of money the federal government wasted in prosecutions, court appearances and on my federal lawyer and supervised probation, but I remember the stress and costs I experienced personally and professionally due to America’s broken drugs laws.”
The Pardon Attorney’s Office stated that when DOJ launched its pardon certificate program in March the Pardon Attorney’s Office at the time said that Biden’s Pardon “lifts the barriers to housing and employment for thousands of people who have those prior convictions.”
Biden’s pardon affects approximately 6,500 people who have committed federal possession crimes. The U.S. In an analysis conducted last year, the U.S.
Presidential Pardon
Thank you for your leadership @JoeBiden. Let’s see how many governors follow in your footsteps. @maura_healey @NedLamont pic.twitter.com/fl3C11njvk
— Kevin B. Gilnack (@kgilnack) September 13, 2023
Gilnack’s certificate has a lot of symbolic value for him at this stage in his life.
Gilnack wrote: “While I understand that the pardon is valid with or without a certificate, I wanted to be able to see tangible proof of the president’s historic action.” “I am fortunate to have a stable job and housing, but I hope that the certificate will help those who are held back because of their involvement in criminal justice.”
He added, “I don’t know if they’ll mail an official copy,” but he hopes they do. The seal that’s affixed to a PDF isn’t as official as a hardcopy.
Gilnack stated that the process of applying for the pardon was “smooth and straightforward.” He added that it arrived “within one week” after he requested it.
Gilnack urged those who are eligible but have not yet applied to find out the date of their conviction and their docket number. In March, the Pardon Attorney’s Office said that it would take “approximately 20 minutes but no more than 2.5 hours for each individual” to complete the application.
Gilnack told Marijuana moment that the Pardon Attorney’s Office contacted him to ask for more information. This included documentation to confirm the conviction. He provided the details required and received the pardon certificate on the following day.
Elizabeth G. Oyer was appointed Biden’s pardon lawyer in April 2022, and her signature appears on Gilnack’s certificate. She said in a DOJ video recently that “thinking of criminal sentencing changed significantly since that time, and that the president can correct some injustices from these prosecutions with his clemency powers.”
The video highlights the striking differences in arrests for cannabis, particularly during the 1980s. For example, from 1980 to 1989, the arrest rates for whites rose by 56 percent while those for blacks increased by 219 percent. It says that during the same time period, arrest rates for drug sales or manufacturing rose by 127 per cent among whites, but increased by 363 per cent for Blacks.
It also did not free anyone who is currently incarcerated and excluded immigrants, military members, and people convicted of selling cannabis. also excluded immigrants, military personnel and those convicted of selling marijuana.
Some individuals and advocates have criticised the slow rollout. The pardon certificate application was not launched until six months after Biden announced mass clemency. Oyer explained that the delays began in December, by saying “it often turns out that government takes longer to make something simple than it does to make it complex and implement it as quickly as it can.”
Gilnack said that although the application process was not difficult, it did cause him some “temporary trouble” after the DOJ website returned a message of error. The system sent him a confirmation email letting him know that the application was successful.
Biden and Kamala Harris, Vice President of the Democratic Party, , recently praised the mass marijuana pardon — as well as the White House scheduling review directive as part of a “mobilize young people” campaign as the next election nears.
A “Fight for Our Freedom ” campaign factsheet states that “the criminalization of marijuana possess has ruined too many lives” for conduct which is now legal in most states.
It says: “The President announced a complete, unconditional and categorical forgiveness for previous federal and DC simple possession offenses.” This pardon removes barriers for housing, employment and education for thousands of people who have prior convictions for simple marijuana possession under federal or DC law.
Gilnack expressed his “deep gratitude to President Biden” for helping to undo the damage caused by our failed drug policy. He urged the governors to follow in the footsteps of the president and pardon cannabis convictions on a state-by-state basis. In Massachusetts, where marijuana was legalized for adults in 2017, people can petition a court to have their cannabis convictions expunged. However, the process is not automatic, as in other states.
By December 2022, almost 2 millions marijuana convictions were pardoned or expunged across the country.
In Nevada, Gov. Steve Sisolak pardoned more than 15,000 people convicted of low-level marijuana possession. In Illinois, Gov. J.B. Pritzker, a Democrat, announced his office would pardon more than 11,000 people convicted for simple possession of cannabis. This announcement came just a few days before the legal sale began in Illinois.
She called it “truly a mercy act”, and Biden praised her for the move.
Some mayors have even facilitated the pardoning of tens or thousands of people in their city. Kansas City Mayor Quinton (D) pardoned 8,000 residents in 2020 with marijuana records. He then introduced an ordinance that ended all penalties for marijuana possess according to the local laws of his municipality.
At a congressional hearing last year, Mayor Randall Woodfin of Birmingham, Alabama, stated that he had processed around 23,000 pardons to residents with marijuana records.
Oyer, U.S. pardon lawyer, stated last year that her office, along with Massachusetts and other jurisdictions using manual processes, initially reviewed “each individual clemency request on an individual basis.”
She noted that “that could change at any time on the directive of the President.” Biden pardoned marijuana for mass use four months later.
The public comments period on the Pardon Certificate Program ended last month.
Here is a copy the pardon certificate that was granted to Kevin Gilnack by DOJ last week:
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The first time Marijuana Moment published the post Justice Department Starts Issuing Marijuana Pardon Certificates under Biden Order.
