Joseph Biden’s presidential term brought an unrealized hope for Edwin Rubis, who is imprisoned at Ashland federal prison in Kentucky. He is one of the over 2,700 federal prisoners incarcerated for marijuana offenses. Like everyone else in his shoes, he was anxiously expecting the release of cannabis prisoners pledged by President Biden and his running mate, Kamala Harris – before the election.
As the days and hours ticked away toward January 20th, he found himself watching White House-issued press releases on television announcing the clemency and pardon of others (not the cannabis prisoners). “I really thought President Biden was going to release me from prison, as he’d already pardoned his son Hunter, reduced sentences of death row inmates, and his entire family.” Edwin said to Kristin Flor, a board member of FreedomGrow.org, in a telephone interview from prison.
Many cannabis prisoners remain in prison, even after more than half of the states in America have legalized medical and recreational marijuana in some form. Many organizations, like the Weldon Angelos Project and Freedom Grow, have tirelessly advocated for non-violent cannabis prisoners such as Edwin to be released. “It was surprising,” one of Edwin’s advocates said in a comment on social media, “we didn’t expect others with far worse criminal records (and more severe crimes), like crack and methamphetamine, to receive clemency ahead of the cannabis prisoners.”
According to the news media, out of the over 2,500 prisoners who received clemency, only nine were on the Freedom Grow outreach list who were incarcerated for cannabis crimes. These nine grants were issued in conjunction with prison reforms enacted by the First Step Act of 2018. Other cannabis prisoners like Ismael Lira and Pedro Moreno, both serving life and Parker Coleman, who’s serving 60 years, were left behind without any hope for freedom with a second chance at life.
More pronounced is the fact that many of the prisoners let out by President Biden didn’t even request a commutation of their sentence(s). “I was dumbfounded,” Edwin said to Kristin Flor, “when three other inmates in my unit stated they had not even applied for clemency.”
And while President Biden partially honored his campaign pledge with a mass pardon in 2022 of people convicted of simple marijuana possession, none of those people pardoned were serving time in prison (interestingly enough). “He definitely fell short in trying to rectify the grave injustices of the War on Drugs during his last days in office.” Prison reformers and cannabis prisoners said.
“President Biden spearheaded every significant federal crime bill from the 1980’s and 1990’s. He was a strong supporter of the War on Drugs. He is responsible for individuals having spent decades behind bars, and for tearing apart families,” said Kat Murti, executive director of Students for Sensible Drug Policy.
Amy Ralston Povah, president of the CAN-DO foundation, which advocates for clemency for non-violent offenders, said she was concerned about the latest categorical action because it did not account for inmates given long sentences for marijuana, especially those who chose to go to trial and as a result were punished more harshly.
Edwin Rubis decided to exercise his Sixth Amendment right and go to trial back in 1998. Before he was sentenced, the prosecutor and the DEA submitted hearsay information from the cooperating witnesses in his case to dramatically enhance his sentence. The result: 40 years in prison for a non-violent marijuana crime.
Now that President Biden has left office, it’s up to the new president, Donald Trump, to pardon the cannabis prisoners. He has already pardoned the Jan. 6 prisoners, and Ross Ulbricht, the operator of the website “Silk Road”. Many are of the belief that he will continue exercising his clemency and pardon powers within his first 100 days in office.
Mike Tyson, a champion boxer, entrepreneur, long-time cannabis advocate, and founder of the cannabis brand TYSON 2.0, has said he’s known Trump for decades and, from personal experience, believes Trump is willing to take bold and compassionate action toward those who were left behind by President Biden. Cannabis advocates and cannabis prisoners alike believe Trump will readily speed the wheels of justice. Even more so since Biden failed to redeem the cannabis prisoners he helped incarcerate through outdated crime bills; bills he adamantly supported during the War on Drugs.
This is an opinion piece and does not necessarily reflect the views of Beard Bros Pharms.
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