PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — If you have been convicted in federal court of simple possession of marijuana, President Joe Biden has pardoned you.
Biden announced his decision Thursday, and is urging governors across the country to follow his lead.
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf announced a similar one-time program last month, and about 3,500 people are waiting to see if their records will be expunged.
"Making sure that people are able to get access to second chances, and that one interaction with the legal system is not something that will hold you back forever,” said Pennsylvania Board of Pardons Secretary Celeste Trusty.
"In lieu of decriminalization and legalization, we need to be taking whatever steps possible to reduce the burden that people feel from interaction with the legal system for personal use of marijuana."
Through the state's Marijuana Pardon Project, more than 3,500 people with certain non-violent convictions related to marijuana applied for a chance at the pardon before last week’s deadline.
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Trusty said they have received applications from people living in all but one Pennsylvania county.
"A lot of people probably sit there and think, ‘Well, this is really an issue for maybe Philly or maybe Pittsburgh.’ And no, that's not actually the case,” she said. “We saw the most applications for the Pennsylvania Marijuana Pardon Project come in from Dauphin County, and then York County."
They are now waiting to get reviewed, with a goal to eventually advance to Wolf's desk before he leaves office in January.
Medical marijuana is legal in the state for people with approved access. Recreational usage is still illegal.
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Similar to the commonwealth’s pardon project, the President's pardon won't cover convictions for possession of other drugs, or charges related to an intent to distribute.
Biden is also not pardoning non-citizens who were in the U.S. without legal status at the time of their arrest.
Chris Goldstein, 46, was arrested after smoking half a joint during a marijuana legalization protest at Independence Hall in Philadelphia in 2013. It was a federal crime because he was in a national park.
He paid a $3,000 fine and spent two years on probation.
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“As someone who voted for President Biden, I’ve been expecting this from the first day he came into office," Goldstein said. "This was a campaign promise.”
As a writer and activist who has been public about his conviction, he’s not sure that his criminal record was an obstacle to him getting a job, but he knows that it shows up in his background checks. And he’s shied away from visiting other countries because convictions can complicate international travel.
“I’m thrilled, and everyone like me is going to be just as thrilled," he said.