White House press secretary Jen Psaki speaks during a press briefing at the White House, Wednesday, April 20, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 9:51 AM PT – Thursday, April 21, 2022
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki affirmed President Joe Biden is still committed to decriminalizing marijuana and releasing federal prisoners behind bars for cannabis convictions.
During a press briefing Wednesday, Psaki said Biden is continuing to review his clemency powers. The President promised to free “everyone” in federal prison for cannabis during his campaign, but has yet to take action on his pledge. Psaki said Biden believes “no one should be in jail because of drug use,” while touting the administration’s progress on research.
“The President continues to believe that no one should be in jail because of drug use,” stated the Press Secretary. “I don’t have an update here. We are continuing to work with Congress, but what I can say on marijuana is we’ve made some progress on our promises. For instance, the DEA just issued its first licenses to companies to cultivate marijuana for research purposes.”
.@PressSec Jen Psaki to @pdoocy on decriminalizing marijuana: “The president continues to believe that no one should be in jail because of drug use.” pic.twitter.com/qqhdbXmxOI
— CSPAN (@cspan) April 20, 2022
Psaki’s comments came after the House of Representatives passed legislation to federally legalize marijuana earlier this month.
