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Drake, Meek Mill, 2 Chainz, Deion Sanders, Kevin Garnett, Killer Mike and more than 100 other celebrities, politicians and reform advocates have signed a letter that urges President Joe Biden to pardon "all persons subject to federal criminal or civil enforcement on the basis of non-violent marijuana offenses."
"Whatever one thinks of other drugs and other defendants, incarcerating marijuana offenders in federal prisons is a misuse of our nation’s resources and grossly hypocritical, given that a clear majority of Americans oppose marijuana prohibition and about half admit to using the drug during their lifetime," the letter states.
"It also stands against the arc of history and the principle of federalism: nearly three-quarters of the states have now abandoned the federal government’s blanket criminal ban in favor of safe, regulated legal access to marijuana for adults and/or those with qualifying medical conditions."
One of the letter's many co-signers is Weldon Angelos, a rising music producer in Utah. More than a decade ago, FOX 13 reports that Angelos was arrested for carrying a firearm while selling cannabis to an undercover informant. At the time he was arrested, laws required that he serve a minimum sentence of 55 years in prison. While several federal judges believed the mandatory sentence was far too severe, he served 12 years in prison until he was pardoned in 2020. Since then, he has been working with Republican Senator Mike Lee to push for criminal justice reform regarding non-violent offenses.
"A conviction can forever limit an individual’s constitutional rights and can put the American dream further out of reach for an entire family," the letter adds.
"Enough is enough. No one should be locked up in federal prison for marijuana. No one should continue to bear the scarlet letter of a federal conviction for marijuana offenses."
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