Joe Biden on Thursday announced that he will pardon federal simple marijuana possession convictions.  However, this is being heralded as a political move as there are currently zero individuals in federal prison with solely "simple possession of marijuana" charges.  According to ABC News:

President Joe Biden on Thursday announced he's pardoning all Americans who've been convicted of simple marijuana possession under federal law, coming closer to keeping a 2020 campaign promise to decriminalize the drug a little more than a month before the midterm election.

The executive action will benefit 6,500 people with prior federal convictions and thousands of others charged under the District of Columbia's criminal code, according to senior administration officials. Elaborating on the number of people affected, officials said, "there are no individuals currently in federal prison solely for simple possession of marijuana."

"As I said when I ran for President, no one should be in jail just for using or possessing marijuana," Biden tweeted in an unusual video statement. "It's legal in many states, and criminal records for marijuana possession have led to needless barriers to employment, housing, and educational opportunities. And that's before you address the racial disparities around who suffers the consequences. While white and Black and brown people use marijuana at similar rates, Black and brown people are arrested, prosecuted, and convicted at disproportionate rates."