PCU //\ Free Assembly Project /
St.Louis MO • www.Free-Assembly.org
_//\_______________________________________________an Association of Volunteers__/
1 April 2023 \ Public Information Post /
The Presidential Pot Pardon
In a well known Facebook group on ‘Rainbow Gathering’ affairs, on 3/15/23 an anonymous “Group participant” wisely and kindly posted this information, most helpful to many afflicted chums.
That message is rendered here with further information and useful links,
to be easily shared more widely:
<< Last fall President Biden officially pardoned everyone who has ever suffered a federal charge for simple possession of marijuana –
October 06, 2022
A Proclamation on Granting Pardon for the Offense of Simple Possession of Marijuana
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2022/10/06/granting-pardon-for-the-offense-of-simple-possession-of-marijuana/If you ever got nailed at a Gathering for simple possession of weed, you were in a U.S. National Forest, and it may have been a Federal charge/conviction… (such busts by local cops under State laws are not affected). If you were a citizen or legal resident at the time of the offense, you can register at the Department of Justice to receive a Certificate of Pardon.
Just wanted to share a few things from my experience with the process.
First, and most importantly… you need to provide an email address, but no physical address or phone number. So if you’re concerned about giving your info out to the feds, no worry.
Second… you can do the whole thing online – DOJ has an application portal. They might email you for more info, but no need to talk to someone on the phone if you don’t want to.
Third… it’s pretty quick, at least now. I got mine in about 10 days.
Fourth… you can get pardoned even if you were never charged or convicted. So if you have something pending or something they didn’t charge you for but potentially could, you can still get the pardon and not have to worry about it in the future.
Fifth… you were technically already pardoned when Biden issued the order. The whole process with DOJ is just to get a registered Certificate – you can pursue it now or later on if you want.
Finally… it is a complete and unconditional pardon. So if you have any unpaid fines from it, or jail time you didn’t serve, it’s wiped away with the pardon.
There’s only about 6,500 people* that had simple marijuana possession charges in the last 30 years. I figure a lot of them have got to be from Gatherings because there was no one else they were bugging for simple possession on federal property. I know in Utah alone in 2003 they charged hundreds of people. [*_number sounds way low ]
Hope this helps some of you! Personally my conviction never really affected me,
but I felt like it was BS I ever got charged, so I wanted that pardon! >>
Further Notes ~
The Pardon is narrow in scope, limited to marijuana, but it goes back forever, for anyone “…charged with or prosecuted for this offense on or before the date of this proclamation.”
It does not extend to criminal charges for ‘Distribution’ or other controlled substances, but arguably it should include related possession counts for ‘Paraphernalia’ (pipes, bongs, etc.). Applicants are encouraged to submit such secondary charges for Pardon as well… we have raised this question with DOJ and urged reasonable flexibility on this kind of marijuana prosecution, in accord with Biden’s intent.
Most pot busts at Rainbow Gatherings have occurred in police roadblocks and ‘gauntlet’ tactics on traffic near the site. Federal Courts have found these stops & searches to be unconstitutional – targeting free assembly and violating your First & Fourth Amendment rights.
If it happened to you, this fact is significant, exposing the misuse of marijuana enforcement as a pretext for repression. When submitting documentation for a Pardon, add this info in protest:
Make a record of these constitutional violations, citing the ‘Rainbow Roadblock’ cases listed and linked below… we pioneered this niche in civil rights law.
A likely outcome of these busts is also distinctive to the Gatherings – “Collateral Forfeiture”: Many victims have been forced to appear within days at a special ‘court’ venue near the site, then induced to waive any defense, enter a “no-contest” plea, and pay this fine – just to get away and avoid trial hassles for months far away from home. The cops evade legal challenges in this way, and in effect these prosecutions are concealed: Unless such cases are contested and docketed for trial, the District Court Clerk sees nothing, and there is no public court record of these police actions.
If this happened to you, the Pardon Attorney cannot retrieve court information on your case, and must rely on the documents you submit. At least, provide the original LEO citation/summons on the marijuana charge, and the Order issued by the magistrate or administrator when you appeared, confirming ‘collateral forfeiture’ and your payment as the final disposition of the case.
We inquired on a few other aspects of the Pardon program, to clarify what people can expect:
~ Unlike successful appeals, post-trial acquittals or exonerations, a Pardon does not “expunge” a conviction from your record. It is a simpler legal action, extending ‘forgiveness’, making it official – and maybe good enough, making this charge trivial and removing the stigma.
~ Nor does a Pardon enable the recipient to recover fines or other payments already made, or to seek legal remedies for imprisonment on marijuana charges. It cannot undo what courts have lawfully done in these cases… it is only a formal apology that changes their meaning.
~ However it can be a solution if one has an outstanding federal court Warrant for failure to appear (FTA) or for unpaid fines. Call the court Clerk to verify a pending warrant… get legal help to file motions to ‘quash’ or vacate the warrant and dismiss the charge, with the Pardon in support.
IN SUM – people affected and eligible are encouraged to seek the Presidential Pot Pardon… there are some real benefits in following up with the DOJ process, and no apparent downsides.
The personal info they request is not intrusive, and the legal info is already a matter of-record – nothing “they” don’t already know. The `statistical` purposes are valid in the big picture, if enough data can show how blacks & hippies have been targeted, where and when.
If you still have your paperwork from the bust, use it for reference and give specifics for the record of the Pot-Pardon program – good for ‘Freedom of Information’ purposes later on.
As for the Certificate of Pardon, it is a useful thing to have: If this issue ever comes up in another legal or employment matter, you have proof in-hand to resolve it quickly.
Hope this is more helpful.
In service: s.c. addison, scribe
Pardon Program ≈ LINKS:
OMB Control No: 1123-0014
Application for Certificate of Pardon for Simple Possession of Marijuana
https://www.justice.gov/iqextranet/EForm.aspx?__cid=Pardon_prod&__fid=5
Info/FAQ Page… ‘Learn more about the pardon’:
https://www.justice.gov/pardon/presidential-proclamation-marijuana-possession
The October 6 Proclamation
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2022/10/06/granting-pardon-for-the-offense-of-simple-possession-of-marijuana/
Biden’s Statement
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/10/06/statement-from-president-biden-on-marijuana-reform/
Certificate of Pardon (redacted sample)
https://www.free-assembly.org/certpardon_sample/
FOIA
https://www.justice.gov/pardon/pardon-attorney-foia
‘Rainbow Roadblock’ Cases:
(Links go to summary pages with key case documents)…
• Park v. Forest Service, 205 F.3d 1034 (8th Cir. 2000)
https://www.free-assembly.org/gather/courtstorms/mo96-park/
• Addison v. Forest Service, 108 F. Supp.2d 1365 (M.D.Fla. 2000)
https://www.free-assembly.org/gather/courtstorms/fl98-addison/
• Hadaway v. Tooke, 2:18-cv-107-RWS (N.D.Georgia 2018
https://www.free-assembly.org/gather/courtstorms/rbw18-ga/hadaway/