On Thursday, former marijuana inmates who were granted clemency during President Donald Trump’s first term organized an event at the White House to express their gratitude and to ask the new government to extend the same help to those who remain behind bars.
Outside the White House, activists who have been affected by criminalization were flanked by cardboard cutouts depicting individuals Trump has pardoned and commutated. They had a simple message: “Free all cannabis prisoner.”
The “Cannabis Prisoners Unity Day”, a grassroots initiative, called attention to an opportunity to capitalize on executive-level relief. Joe Biden, the former president of the United States who served under Trump during his first term in office, also pardoned or commuted hundreds sentences while in office. Despite this, many people are still behind bars for non-violent cannabis convictions.
“President Trump, we are your example of a victory,” Craig Cesal—who received a commutation for a life sentence he was handed down in 2002 for a marijuana distribution conviction—said during a panel discussion ahead of the White House meetup.
“He believed in us—and I told you, that was the exact words that [Ivanka Trump] “She told me that she believes that you will be an important, productive member of the society,” said he. “President Trump, you’re right. We are here to back up your claim.”
Anthony DeJohn, who was also granted relief from a life sentence over cannabis, said he’d like to thank Trump “for taking me from the pits of hell in the United States—because that’s what the prison system is, the pits of hell.”
The man said: “If I were to speak to him about anything, I would ask that he release the other prisoners, since they are not deserving of being there.”
Travis Cullen was the organizer of this daylong event. Travis is a person who has been impacted by justice and served jail time for a marijuana non-violent offense. The event was also supported by many advocacy groups, such as Freedom Grow, The Redemption Foundation Mission Green, and Jailed for Weed.
Cullen told MEDCAN24 on Thursday that the plan is to hold the event annually—at least until the remaining cannabis prisoners are released, which he’s hopeful could happen with the right executive direction.
While the Trump administration so far has not meaningfully engaged on cannabis issues this term—with a focus on immigration and tariff policy occupying much of the White House’s time—there seems to be a recently stepped-up push from advocates and stakeholders making the case to prioritize marijuana reform.
At the federal level, two bills on cannabis were introduced by bipartisan legislators that are in large part aligned with Trump’s stated position.
The first would eliminate federal prohibition of marijuana in all states which have already legalized the drug, and provide a federal framework to regulate cannabis products. One would require the Attorney General to set up a panel that will make recommendations for a cannabis regulatory system, similar to what is currently in place with alcohol.
The introduction of the bills comes amid the release of a new survey from a GOP pollster affiliated with Trump that found that a majority of Republicans back a variety of cannabis reforms—and, notably, they’re even more supportive of allowing states to legalize marijuana without federal interference compared to the average voter.
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Meanwhile, a White House spokesperson recently told CNN that the administration currently has “no action” planned on marijuana reform proposals, including those like rescheduling and industry banking access that Trump also endorsed on the campaign trail last year.
The White House has also said that marijuana rescheduling is not a part of Trump’s drug policy priorities for the first year of his second term—a disappointment for advocates and stakeholders who hoped to see him take speedier action.
Former officials with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) also recently said that, without proactive advocacy for marijuana rescheduling from Trump personally, the process could stall indefinitely.
Bipartisan Lawmakers Introduce Bill to end Federal Marijuana Prohibition for Legal States in Line With Trump’s Stance
Travis Cullen. Photo by Travis Cullen.
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