Federal marijuana pardons - NY gun law blocked - Russians seek US asylum

The pardons cover “simple possession”, which is a low-level offense, meaning people imprisoned for trafficking, sales or other marijuana charges will not be covered. The White House said no one is currently in federal prison solely for “simple possession.” Administration officials said that the pardon could benefit about 6,500 people. [Biden] went on to urge all governors to do the same with regards to state offenses.
...
The executive director of Marijuana Justice noted that pardoning only “simple possession” cases would exclude many people who have been criminalized. Marijuana Justice and the Last Prisoner Project analyzed data last year that showed that the vast majority of people in state prison for marijuana charges had drug sale and other convictions on their records.
...
The president also called on the secretary of health and human services and the attorney general to begin to review how marijuana is scheduled under federal law. [Marijuana's schedule 1 classification] puts it even higher than the classification of fentanyl and methamphetamine.