Thousands Who’ve Been Pardoned For Federal Marijuana Offenses Would Have Their Records Expunged Under New Bipartisan Congressional Bill

Bipartisan congressional lawmakers have filed a bill to provide for the expungement of records for people who’ve received presidential pardons, including non-violent marijuana offenses.

The legislation from Reps. Kelly Armstrong (R-ND) and David Trone (D-MD), along with four other cosponsors, is named after Weldon Angelos, who was granted a pardon under the Trump administration for his own cannabis conviction and has since become an advocate for reform.

While pardons represent formal forgiveness, they are a largely a symbolic gesture, as a records can still be accessed. As such, many pardon recipients continue to face “barriers to reentry into society, hindering their ability to fully participate in their communities and lead productive lives,” the new bill’s findings section says.

President Joe Biden, who’s issued mass marijuana pardons for possession offenses, had previously falsely stated that his clemency actions also expunged people’s records. But in May, he finally acknowledged the limitations of his pardons and argued that “records should be expunged as well.”

“The expungement of criminal records can help pardoned individuals who have paid their debt to society and received a full pardon for their offenses move forward and contribute to society in meaningful ways, as well as reduce the negative impact of a criminal record on their families and communities,” the new bill says.

“Federal legislation granting pardoned criminal offenders the right to have their records expunged would provide a second chance for individuals like Mr. Angelos and help to address the inequities and injustices within the criminal justice system,” it continues. “This legislation would promote rehabilitation, reduce recidivism, and benefit society as a whole by removing unnecessary barriers to reentry and enabling individuals to fully reintegrate into their communities.”

To that end, the Weldon Angelos Presidential Pardon Expungements Act would require the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, within one year of enactment, to implement rules to facilitate the “review, expungement, sealing, sequester and redaction” of criminal records for low-level federal crimes, including cannabis cases.

“Having personally endured a disproportionately harsh sentence and faced the barriers that persist even after receiving a full presidential pardon, this bill is nothing short of life-changing,” Angelos told Marijuana Moment on Monday. “When a president grants a full pardon, it should truly offer a second chance.”

“This legislation ensures that promise is fulfilled by establishing an expungement process only Congress has the power to create,” he said. “I am deeply thankful to Congressman Armstrong for his leadership in criminal justice reform, and I am humbled that such impactful legislation bears my name.”

The bill follows another measure filed by Armstrong and Rep. Troy Carter (D-LA) in May, but has key differences. For example, that bill would create a process to expunge federal misdemeanor marijuana convictions and allow courts to recommend presidential pardons for eligible cases. The earlier legislation also calls on the chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court to implement rules to facilitate the “review, expungement, sealing, sequester and redaction” of criminal records for low-level federal cannabis crimes.

Under the new bill, federal district courts would have to “conduct a comprehensive review of its official records” to identify cases eligible for expungement and process the relief within two years of enactment. People could also proactively petition courts for a review for potential clemency.

“An order of expungement, consistent with this Act, shall restore the affected individual to the legal status they occupied before the investigation, arrest, legal proceedings, and any legal results or consequences…for which they are the subject of an expunged official record, as if such record had never existed and underlying activity had never occurred,” the measure says.

“Notwithstanding any other law, any individual who has an expunged official record, including a conviction, shall not be disqualified under Federal law from pursuing or engage in any Federal employment, contracting, lawful activity, occupation, or profession,” it says.

Also, the legislation would required the Government Accountability Office (GAO), in consultation with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), to carry out a study of “investigation, arrests, legal proceedings, and any legal results or consequences… for Federal misdemeanors, petty offenses, infractions, and civil penalties.”

“Such study shall include information about the age, race, ethnicity, sex, and gender identity of those individuals with an official record for an expungable event, as well as information about the type of community such individuals dwell in and such other demographic information as the Comptroller General determines should be included.”

GAO would be mandated to produce a report with its findings within two years of the bill’s enactment.

—
Marijuana Moment is tracking more than 1,500 cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments.

Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access.
—

The legislation would enable the thousands of people who’ve received pardons from Biden and prior administrations for cannabis offenses to have their records cleared. Under Biden, those pardons have been largely been reserved for those who’ve committed simple possession offenses.

With Biden’s final term coming to a close next month, advocates have stepped up their efforts to encourage the president to exercise additional clemency authority to free those still incarcerated over federal marijuana convictions. That includes Angelos, who penned an op-ed for Marijuana Moment last week with a currently incarcerated individual that calls on Biden to take urgent action to fulfill his campaign promise on cannabis clemency.

The White House on Friday said there’s going to be “more to come” in the way of clemency actions in the “upcoming weeks,” without specifying whether that will involve people currently incarcerated over cannabis.

A coalition of 14 Democratic congressional lawmaker has separately urged Biden to significantly expand his marijuana pardons and issue updated guidance to formally deprioritize federal cannabis prosecutions before his administration comes to an end.

Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) are also promoting a drug policy reform group’s call for the president or future administrations to issue an executive order to ensure equity in federal marijuana laws and more broadly shift the country away from the drug war.

Meanwhile, a coalition of 67 Democratic members of Congress has separately called on Biden to expand on his executive clemency work in the final months of his term, citing his past marijuana pardons as an example of his ability to provide “life-changing” relief to Americans.

Biden also recently discussed his administration’s cannabis actions and reiterated his belief that criminalization over minor marijuana offenses is an outdated policy during a speech at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s (CBCF) 2024 Phoenix Awards Dinner.

In the background, the Biden administration’s push to reschedule marijuana is ongoing, with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) kicking off an administrative hearing into the proposal last week. Based on the DEA administrative law judge’s schedule for the merit-based future hearings, however, a potential final rule would not be issued under after Biden leaves office next month.

Federal Marijuana Rescheduling Could ‘Open A Door’ For Washington, D.C. To Finally Legalize Sales Locally, Legal Analysis Says

Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer.