January 17, 2025
President Biden’s recent decision to pardon his son Hunter underscores a painful hypocrisy in our justice system.
While Hunter Biden walks free, thousands of Americans remain incarcerated for nonviolent marijuana offenses – despite the president’s explicit campaign promises to address these injustices.
With just days left in his presidency, Biden has yet to grant a single commutation for those languishing in federal prison for marijuana, leaving families such as those of Parker Coleman and Jerry Haymon in agony. (Biden on Friday commuted nearly 2,500 nonviolent drug sentences but did not clarify which substances were involved.)
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In December, President Biden commuted the sentences of nearly 1,500 individuals – a historic act in terms of numbers.
But there’s a glaring caveat: All of those people were already in home confinement under the CARES Act.
While this decision brings closure to those already free, it does absolutely nothing for the men and women still behind bars for marijuana offenses.
This selective mercy is not just a broken promise – it’s a betrayal of the principles of equity and justice the president campaigned on.
Biden’s vow to nonviolent marijuana offenders
As individuals who have experienced both sides of the justice system – one as a victim of harsh sentencing and the other as a retired law enforcement officer – we find this inaction indefensible.
Biden vowed to free people imprisoned for nonviolent marijuana offenses, a step that would have helped address the systemic racism and economic inequality entrenched in the war on drugs.
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Instead, his administration has offered only symbolic gestures, such as pardoning low-level marijuana possession offenses – none of which has freed a single person or alleviated the lifelong impacts of felony convictions.
Astonishingly, Biden has now pardoned more turkeys than cannabis prisoners.
Presidential Pardon Expungement Act offers hope
Meanwhile, the state-regulated marijuana industry continues to grow.
Companies such as California-based Glass House Brands operate legally and profitably, cultivating and selling far more cannabis than anyone currently incarcerated for federal marijuana offenses ever could.
Yet, while these businesses are celebrated as entrepreneurial success stories, thousands of Americans remain behind bars, serving decades-long sentences for the same activity.
This glaring double standard erodes public trust in a justice system that continues to prioritize privilege over fairness.
Thankfully, some members of Congress are taking meaningful action.
In November 2024, U.S. Rep Kelly Armstrong, a North Dakota Republican, introduced the Weldon Angelos Presidential Pardon Expungements Act, garnering bipartisan support from lawmakers, including Republican Reps. Laurel Lee of Florida, Barry Moore of Alabama, Don Bacon of Nebraska and Jeff Duncan of South Carolina as well as Democratic Rep. David Trone of Maryland.
This bill would allow individuals granted presidential pardons for federal offenses – including marijuana-related charges – to petition for full expungement of their criminal records.
Even with a pardon, these records often pose significant barriers to employment and reintegration.We urge both Biden and President-elect Donald Trump to support this vital legislation and help bring it across the finish line.
Hypocrisy cannot be ignored
While state-regulated cannabis companies thrive in a federally illegal market, thousands of Americans remain imprisoned for marijuana offenses that are no longer considered crimes in much of the country.
What message does it send when the president’s own son receives a pardon, but ordinary Americans lacking political connections continue to endure life-altering consequences for similar offenses?
President Biden still has the power to fulfill his promises.
People such as Parker Coleman and Jerry Haymon, along with their families, are waiting for Biden to extend the same mercy he showed his son.
Now that the president has firsthand experience as a parent whose child was facing many years behind bars, it is time for him to show the same compassion to the parents whose children have spent years – if not decades – behind bars.
The clock is ticking, and the stakes are high.
If President Biden chooses to leave this vital work undone and tarnish his legacy, we hope the next administration – led by Trump, who has already committed to granting marijuana clemency – will finally right these wrongs.
Justice demands consistency.
It’s time to end this hypocrisy and deliver the fairness and equality that Americans deserve.
Weldon Angelos is the co-founder and president of Los Angeles-based The Weldon Project. He can be reached at unlikelyallies2017@gmail.com.
Kyle Kazan is the co-founder, chair and CEO of Long Beach, California-headquartered cannabis company Glass House Brands and a retired law enforcement officer. He can be reached at kyle@glasshousegroup.com.
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