Governor John Bel Edwards approves of President Biden’s pardon of federal inmates for simple marijuana possession—he’s just not ready to do it on state level.
"I think he’s right to do it," Edwards is quoted in the Times-Picayune/New Orleans Advocate. "Because we have now multiple states around the country where recreational use of marijuana is actually legal. And so not only is it decriminalized as it has been in Louisiana, but elsewhere it’s been legalized."
As President Biden pardoned thousands he urged state governors to do the same.
But Governor Edwards says he doesn’t have the authority to do it, saying a state board handling pardons must first take action and make recommendations to him.
He did say he will work with future legislatures to draw down the penalties for marijuana possession.
"Someone who has been convicted of a simple possession of marijuana that would now be legal in many states, decriminalized in others, that conviction should not prevent you from having access to employment, to housing, to education and so forth," Edwards said.
