Scott Applauds President Biden’s Marijuana Reforms
NEWPORT NEWS, VA – Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement:
"I applaud President Biden for the actions announced today to reform how the federal government treats marijuana. President Biden said repeatedly on the campaign trail that nobody should be in jail solely for using or possessing marijuana. I was honored to co-chair the Democratic Party's 2020 Platform Criminal Justice Unity Task Force, and this announcement is consistent with the recommendations we made to then-candidate Biden. Furthermore, this announcement is also consistent with recommendations made by the House Judiciary Committee's Overcriminalization Task Force, which I co-chaired in the 113th Congress, as well as several provisions of my SAFE Justice Act. Wasting our limited federal criminal justice resources on investigating, arresting, prosecuting and incarcerating individuals for simple possession of marijuana does nothing to make our communities safer. We should instead be using those funds on evidence-based prevention and early intervention initiatives that actually reduce crime and save money. Today's announcement is an historic step taken by the Biden Administration to make our criminal justice system fairer, and I look forward to working with the President and my colleagues in Congress to further build on this progress."
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