(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Advocates for the decriminalization of cannabis are embracing President Biden's decision to pardon thousands of Americans convicted in federal courts of simple possession of marijuana.
Margo Vesely, executive director of the Illinois chapter of the National Organization of Reform Marijuana Laws, welcomed the president's decision but called it “surprising” because the Biden Administration did not seem open to such a move previously.
Still, she called it a “substantial step forward in the right direction.”
Vesely also welcomed the president's order for a review of marijuana's classification under federal law on the same level as drugs such as heroin and LSD.
In the wake of the president’s announcement, Gov. JB Pritzker said nearly 800,000 low-level marijuana convictions in Illinois have been pardoned or expunged.
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