WASHINGTON — Federal marijuana prisoners are calling out President Biden ahead of the annual 4/20 cannabis holiday for not yet honoring his campaign promise to free “everyone” behind bars for pot — as Biden suggests in public remarks he’s already fulfilled that pledge.
Four inmates told The Post the 81-year-old president’s quest for a second term could only be helped by letting them go after critics denounced as a PR stunt Biden’s 2022 mass-pardon for up to 6,500 people with simple pot possession convictions, of whom none were in prison.
“When a political candidate ignores the social issues of his constituents, he is destined to lose,” said Edwin Rubis, 55, who is 24 years into a 40-year sentence for taking part in a marijuana-dealing conspiracy in the Houston area in the 1990s.
“It is time for our president to take action. Rhetoric is no longer effective at this late stage of the game,” said Rubis, who was arrested by the DEA in 1998 when he was 29.
“We all know President Biden wants to serve out a second term. The way to attain such a feat rests with the voters. Release all cannabis prisoners and we will vote for you,” said Rubis.
Parker Coleman, 38, who was sentenced in 2014 to 60 years in prison for leading a group that authorities say imported four tons of marijuana from California to North Carolina, said “this isn’t just about correcting individual injustices; it’s about aligning our nation’s values with its actions.”
“Every day that passes without change is a missed opportunity for the president,” added Coleman, who is serving a 30 year sentence for dealing marijuana and money laundering, with a consecutive 30-year sentence for owning guns while doing so.
“The time for action is now, and I, along with countless others, await the chance to contribute positively to a society that recognizes our worth beyond our sentences.”
Support for relaxing marijuana laws and freeing inmates doesn’t fall neatly along party lines. Currently, the drug is allowed for recreational use in 24 states — including conservative Alaska, Missouri and Montana — and voters in Florida will decide whether to become the 25th in November.
Former President Donald Trump released some of the most harshly sentenced federal pot inmates on his final day in office in January 2021, including seven people with life sentences, two of whom were sent away under the Biden-authored 1994 crime law.
Pot reform advocates say Biden has yet to live up to his promise to release the rest.
In 2019, Biden fended off critics of his record on crime by saying at a Democratic primary debate, “I think we should decriminalize marijuana, period. And I think everyone — anyone who has a record — should be let out of jail, their records expunged, be completely zeroed out.”
But Biden’s pre-midterm election mass pardon angered marijuana campaigners, who staged a protest outside the White House blaring audio of Biden’s campaign promise to free “everyone” in prison for pot — which they interpreted as meaning dealers as well as users.
Biden has repeatedly indicated that he understands his original pledge as applying only to marijuana users who didn’t distribute the drug.
Biden told Al Sharpton’s National Action Network conference on April 12 that he kept various campaign promises that impact black voters, including “keeping my promise that no one should be in federal prison for merely possessing marijuana” — narrowing the scope of his original pledge.
Asked by a reporter in July 2022 about his pot pledge “to release all of the marijuana inmates in prison,” Biden pointedly replied, “I don’t think anyone should be in prison for the use of marijuana.”
Pedro “Pete” Moreno, 64, who is one of the few remaining federal inmates with a life sentence for marijuana-related crimes, said that he hopes Biden will stick to the earlier assurance.
“I pray that President Biden will have mercy on me and my family,” he said.
Moreno, his wife and four of his brothers were sentenced to prison in 2001 for smuggling pot from Mexico into the US between 1986 to 1996. His brothers were freed in 2017 by President Barack Obama and his wife was previously released shortly before she died.
“My daughter was orphaned when my wife and I were sent to prison for cannabis as first offenders and then her mother died soon after her release,” said Moreno, who was harshly punished in part because he allegedly encouraged a co-defendant to flee to Mexico.
“She is now 35 years old and has three children I would love to play with and repair the damage done by my absence.”
Not all federal marijuana inmates are aging relics from the pre-legalization era, which began in 2012 when voters in Colorado and Washington passed ballot measures to regulate recreational pot markets.
Jose Valero Jr, 26, for example, was sentenced in 2022 to seven years in prison for selling marijuana in Georgia while also owning 11 guns, which isn’t allowed by drug users — an offense for which Biden’s own son Hunter, 54, currently faces charges in Delaware, with a trial expected later this year.
Valero said “every day in prison for a crime that’s no longer prosecuted as harshly is a stark reminder of the gap between political rhetoric and reality.”
“It’s time for those in power to turn their promises into action and reunite us with our families,” said Valero.
“When President Biden pledged to free those of us incarcerated for nonviolent marijuana offenses, it felt like a breath of fresh air and a step toward justice. Yet, here we stand, still shackled by the chains of an unkept promise.”
The South is one of the final regions in the country to allow medical and recreational pot use — denying vendors a legal shield against federal charges pursuant to Justice Department policy of deference.
US Attorney for southern Georgia David Estes hailed Valero’s sentence two years ago, saying, “Illegal drugs and illegally possessed firearms are the combustible fuel that drives violent crime in far too many of our communities.”
It’s unclear exactly how many federal inmates are jailed for marijuana-related crimes, but a recent congressional estimate put the figure around 2,600.
Amy Ralston Povah of CAN-DO Foundation, which advocates for clemency for non-violent offenders, said, “I started doing vigils in front of the White House during the Bush administration soon after I was granted clemency by President Clinton in 2000” and she counts more than 100 successes to date.
“But there are still so many seeking a second chance, like Pete Moreno,” Povah said.
Weldon Angelos, a former federal marijuana inmate and co-founder of the group Mission Green, said “President Biden’s campaign promise to release individuals imprisoned for marijuana offenses was a beacon of hope for countless families and advocates across the nation. It’s deeply disheartening to see this pledge remain unfulfilled.”
“Every day that passes without action is another day of missed opportunities, lost moments with loved ones, and continued injustice for those languishing behind bars for actions that many states no longer deem criminal,” Angelos said.
“It’s time for President Biden to fulfill his promise and free thousands of people who are still incarcerated federally for marijuana.”
The White House did not offer comment for this article.
