That’s pretty incredible, right? Right?

Thoughts:

• This is an unequivocally good policy choice, though it will be small in actual impact. Most drug cases are handled through state and local courts, and Biden only has the ability to pardon those convicted in federal courts. This won't release any prisoners because there are no federal prisoners in on weed possession alone, but it will clear the criminal conviction from the records of 6,500 former federal prisoners.
• Biden's executive order also calls on Governors to do the same, which is the right move. There have been efforts to move in this direction in Colorado, Illinois, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Washington.
• The big buried lede here is that Biden's also stated that he's making some baby steps towards re- or de-scheduling weed under the Controlled Substances Act, which could effectively legalize it nationally.
• This is a big turnaround for Biden, who has previously been quite conservative on the weed issue despite the fact that marijuana is more popular than he is. My guess is that this is meant to pair with his new student debt policy to increase youth voting in the upcoming primaries.
• Bernie + Warren + Cory Booker + others recently sent a letter to the White House asking Biden to issue these pardons and to fully legalize weed via rescheduling. It's a pleasant surprise to see Biden taking the advice from his left, even if it is for election season.