President Biden’s action on marijuana convictions borne out of task force Sen. Raumesh Akbari worked on

MEMPHIS — Tennessee Sen. Raumesh Akbari is celebrating President Joe Biden’s action to pardon people convicted for possession of marijuana under federal law.

In fact, she helped helped develop the policy idea.

In May of 2020, Joe Biden, then the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, appointed Akbari to the Biden-Sanders Criminal Justice Reform Unity Task Force to make policy recommendations for the campaign.

Yesterday, Biden acted on one of those recommendations by erasing prior federal possession convictions and beginning the process of potentially loosening federal classification of the drug.

Statement from Sen. Raumesh Akbari:

“Despite the fact that marijuana use is consistent across all racial groups, the laws have always been applied disproportionately to Black and brown communities.

“As a member of the Biden-Sanders Criminal Justice Reform Unity Task Force, we studied how these convictions are blocking people from gaining employment and housing and how federal law ignores the reality that cannabis is now legal for more people in America than it is illegal.

“President Biden’s action on pardoning federal possession convictions is going to change lives. This reform will have an immediate impact on families and our communities. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee should take a hard look at the president’s proposal and follow suit.”