A man described as the longest-serving cannabis offender, originally sentenced to 90 years in prison for pot charges, is commenting on President Joe Biden’s plan to pardon thousands of Americans convicted of “simple possession” of marijuana under federal law.
Richard DeLisi, who served 32 years in prison for nonviolent cannabis offenses until he was released in 2020, spoke about the impact of spending so many years behind bars. He also said Biden’s plan to grant mass pardons is a step in the right direction.
DeLisi was sentenced in 1989 to 90 years in prison for conspiring to traffic more than 100 lbs of cannabis into the U.S.
“I thought the judge was joking,” he said.
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Through the help of the Last Prisoner Project, a non profit working toward criminal justice reform for marijuana related crimes, he was released from prison in Florida in 2020.
To his own disbelief, DeLisi now has his own marijuana company called DeLisioso and recently partnered with a dispensary in D.C.
“You can imagine how shocking it is for me. I mean I spent 32 calendar years in a maximum security prison,” he said.
The impact of being incarcerated for non-violent drug offenses is devastating, DeLisi said.
“People don’t even realize how many families, how bad it affects the households,” he said.
He wants the Biden administration to make marijuana federally legal, and for those facing state charges to be released.
“Making sure that nobody’s left behind. I don’t want – you know – men, women, everyone’s gotta come. They gotta let them all out,” he said.
The Department of Justice is working to devise a process for those covered by Biden's pardon to receive a certificate of pardon, which they can show to potential employers and others as needed.
“The Justice Department will expeditiously administer the President’s proclamation, which pardons individuals who engaged in simple possession of marijuana, restoring political, civil, and other rights to those convicted of that offense," the department said in a statement. “In coming days, the Office of the Pardon Attorney will begin implementing a process to provide impacted individuals with certificates of pardon.”
The president also called for a review of how marijuana is classified under federal law. Currently marijuana is a schedule 1 substance under federal drug sentencing guidelines, which is the same as heroin and LSD.
Zeke Miller and Chris Megerian contributed to this report.
