#Countdown4Clemency Campaign Calls on Biden to Keep Promise, Free 3,000 People Incarcerated for Cannabis

WASHINGTON, Sept. 10, 2024 – PRESS RELEASE – The Last Prisoner Project (LPP), alongside other cannabis industry advocates and bipartisan 420 unity coalition partners, launched the #Countdown4Clemency campaign, a call to action for President Joe Biden to fulfill his commitment to cannabis justice by granting clemency to thousands of individuals incarcerated for federal cannabis convictions.

The #Countdown4Clemency campaign urges Biden to act swiftly to release an estimated 3,000 individuals who are still incarcerated for cannabis offenses. Recent polls show that 84% of voters back the release of individuals serving time for now-legal offenses, and 72% support clemency at both the federal and state levels, emphasizing the public's strong support for cannabis clemency.

“Time is running out on President Biden's term, but it is not too late for him to undo the harms inflicted on families impacted by cannabis criminalization,” LPP Executive Director Sarah Gersten said. “With his clemency powers, the president has the opportunity to right history and restore justice by fulfilling his promise that no one should be in jail for cannabis.”

As Biden enters a "lame duck" period with less than five months in office, he has a unique opportunity to correct the injustices of the war on drugs that he previously championed. The campaign highlights that despite the president's categorical pardons, no one has yet been released from prison for cannabis through commutations under his administration, and he has only granted 1.6% of all clemency petitions submitted during his presidency.

The campaign also draws attention to the significant racial disparities in cannabis-related convictions and the potential for clemency to positively impact communities of color. Almost half of the clemency petitions LPP has submitted currently under review involve individuals who identify as Black, many of whom could be granted relief with the president's action.

Among those still behind bars is Ricardo Ashmeade, who is serving a 22-year sentence due to the three-strikes law sponsored by then-Sen. Joe Biden. His daughter, Richeda Ashmeade, has been separated from her father for 16 years. As she approaches her law school graduation, Biden has the opportunity to reunite their family with the stroke of a pen.

To join the #Countdown4Clemency and advocate for cannabis justice, the public is encouraged to send letters to President Biden to grant clemency before his term ends, then promote the campaign on social media using hashtags #Countdown4Clemency and #CannabisClemency! For more information, visit www.cannabisclemency.org.