Biden Expands Pardons for Low-Level Federal Marijuana Offenders

Published

1 year ago

December 26, 2023

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President Joe Biden expanded a categorical pardon today for low-level marijuana offenders convicted on federal lands and in the District of Columbia, a move the White House says will ease the burden of a criminal record for thousands of people.

“Criminal records for marijuana use and possession have imposed needless barriers to employment, housing, and educational opportunities,” Biden said in a White House press release. “Too many lives have been upended because of our failed approach to marijuana. It’s time that we right these wrongs.”

In October of last year, the White House announced categorical pardons for those convicted of simple possession of marijuana on federal lands. Today’s announcement expands the eligible offenses.

Biden also commuted the sentences of 11 nonviolent drug offenders serving sentences that were much longer than they would have been if the prisoners had been sentenced today. They were convicted of cocaine and methamphetamine offenses.

On the campaign trail, Biden promised to fix some of the federal drug war’s most draconian policiesmany of which he was partly responsible forbut his administration was slow to act on those promises, leading to criticism from criminal justice advocacy groups.

As Reason ‘s Jacob Sullum wrote last year, Biden’s marijuana pardons were estimated to potentially benefit roughly 10,000 people, but they didn’t free a single one of the nearly 3,000 people serving long federal sentences for marijuana offenses. They also didn’t apply to noncitizens .

In his statement today, Biden urged state governors to use their clemency powers too. “Just as no one should be in a federal prison solely due to the use or possession of marijuana, no one should be in a local jail or state prison for that reason, either,” Biden said.

But as Sullum wrote , the logic of Biden’s position on marijuanathat possessing and using it should not be a crime, but selling it should remain illegalmakes no sense:

The moral logic of Biden’s distinction between simple possession and other marijuana offenses is hard to follow. He says using marijuana should not be treated as a crime. If so, how can helping people use marijuana justify sending anyone to prison? And why should people convicted of assisting cannabis consumption be saddled with felony records for the rest of their lives?

Still, the pardons reflect the continuing collapse of public support for prohibiting marijuana. Following the passage of ballot referendums in Ohio this November, marijuana is legal in 24 states. A Gallup poll last month reported that 70 percent of Americans favored legalizing marijuanaan all-time high.

UK

Russian captain of ship in North Sea crash charged with gross negligence manslaughter

Published

2 hours ago

March 14, 2025

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Russian captain of ship in North Sea crash charged with gross negligence manslaughter

The Russian captain of the Solong container ship involved in the North Sea crash has been charged with gross negligence manslaughter.

Vladimir Motin, 59, of Primorsky, St Petersburg, has been remanded in police custody and is due to appear at Hull Magistrates Court on Saturday, Humberside Police said.

On Monday morning, about 13 miles off the coast of East Yorkshire, the Solong sailed into the US-registered oil tanker Stena Immaculate, which was carrying jet fuel for the US Navy.

One member of the Solong crew is presumed dead. He has been named by the Crown Prosecution Service as 38-year-old Filipino national Mark Angelo Pernia.

Five Russians had been on board the Solong, Russian state agency TASS quoted the Russian embassy in London as saying, Reuters reported.

In the immediate aftermath of the collision, dozens of people were forced to abandon the vessels as they caught fire.

The coastguard rescued 36 crew members after the alarm was raised at 9.48am on Monday.

The Stena Immaculate, operated by US firm Crowley, was stationary and at anchor while waiting for a berth to become available at the Port of Killingholme, on the River Humber, when it was struck by the smaller Solong, causing huge fires and explosions – the smoke from which was visible from space.

The Solong had been sailing from Grangemouth in Scotland to Rotterdam in the Netherlands at the time.

It was initially feared it was carrying sodium cyanide but the German owner Ernst Russ said four containers on the vessel had previously been carrying the chemical.

Salvage companies boarded the two vessels on Thursday and were carrying out initial damage assessments. Small fires were still being reported on the Solong’s top deck, the coastguard said.

Police said extensive lines of inquiry were continuing but it was taking time given the vessels were still at sea and there were a large number of witnesses.

Frank Ferguson, from the CPS, said: “We have authorised Humberside Police to charge a Russian national in relation to a collision involving two vessels in the North Sea off the east coast of England.

“The Portuguese-registered cargo ship, the Solong, collided with the American-registered oil tanker, the Stena Immaculate, just before 10am on Monday, 10 March 2025.

“Filipino national Mark Angelo Pernia, 38, died.

“Vladimir Motin, 59, from St Petersburg, Russia, who was the vessel’s captain, is due to be charged with one count of gross negligence manslaughter.”

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Technology

Buy now, pay later lender Klarna files for U.S. IPO

Published

2 hours ago

March 14, 2025

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Buy now, pay later lender Klarna files for U.S. IPO

Pedestrians walk by an advertisement for Klarna.

Daniel Harvey Gonzalez | In Pictures via Getty Images

Klarna, a provider of buy now, pay later loans filed its IPO prospectus on Friday, and plans to go public on the New York Stock Exchange under ticker symbol KLAR.

Klarna, headquartered in Sweden, hasn’t yet disclosed the number of shares to be offered or the expected price range.

The decision to go public in the U.S. deals a significant blow to European stock exchanges, which have struggled to retain homegrown tech firms. Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski had hinted for years that a U.S. listing was more likely, citing better visibility and regulatory advantages.

Klarna is continuing to rebuild after a dramatic downturn. Once a pandemic-era darling valued at $46 billion in a SoftBank-led funding round, Klarna saw its valuation slashed by 85% in 2022, plummeting to $6.7 billion in its most recent primary fundraising. However, analysts now estimate the company’s valuation in the $15 billion range, bolstered by its return to profitability in 2023.

Revenue last year increased 24% to $2.8 billion. The company’s operating loss was $121 million for the year, and adjusted operating profit was $181 million, swinging from a loss of $49 million a year earlier.

Founded in 2005, Klarna is best known for its buy now, pay later model, a service that allows consumers to split purchases into installments. The company competes with Affirm, which went public in 2021, and Afterpay, which Block acquired for $29 billion in early 2022. Klarna’s major shareholders include venture firms Sequoia Capital and Atomico, as well as SoftBank’s Vision Fund.

Politics

UK authorizes charges against NCA officer for alleged Bitcoin theft

Published

2 hours ago

March 14, 2025

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UK authorizes charges against NCA officer for alleged Bitcoin theft

The agency responsible for conducting criminal prosecutions in England and Wales announced that a National Crime Agency (NCA) officer was due to be charged with the alleged theft of Bitcoin worth roughly $75,000 in 2017.

In a March 14 notice, the Crown Prosecution Service said it had authorized the Merseyside Police to charge NCA officer Paul Chowles with 15 offenses related to the alleged Bitcoin (BTC) theft “during an investigation into online organized crime.” Authorities said Chowles could face one count of theft, 11 charges for concealing, disguising, or converting criminal property and three counts for acquiring, using or possessing criminal property.

The 50 Bitcoin, worth roughly $75,000 before the December 2017 bull run, was valued at more than $4.2 million at the time of publication at a BTC price of $84,541. The NCA officer is expected to appear at the Liverpool Magistrates’ Court on April 25.

In April 2024, amendments to the UK’s Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act authorized NCA officers and local police to seize crypto from suspected criminals without arresting them. The Crown Prosecution Service did not mention how Chowles allegedly stole the Bitcoin or whether the funds were connected to illicit activities.

Crypto policies across the pond

The NCA said in December 2024 that it had seized roughly $26 million in cash and crypto and arrested 84 people as part of a global campaign to fight money laundering and organized crime. Some of the crypto addresses targeted by UK authorities at the time “showed regular exposure to Garantex.” The founder of the Russian crypto exchange was arrested in India in March and is expected to be extradited to the US to face criminal charges.

The UK government is expected to move forward on creating a comprehensive regulatory framework for digital assets in 2025 following the Labour government’s election victory. The country remains a significant market for crypto users, with Coinbase securing approval to operate from the financial regulatory body in February.

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