Biden said he was rolling out a mass pardon for all those currently sitting in jail on a federal marijuana possession charge. This announcement was a breath of fresh air considering this country's horrific track record when it comes to kidnapping, caging, and killing people over this plant.

While this sounds like a major move on the surface, when we take a closer look, it doesn't appear to be major, or, in fact, any move at all. According to an analysis of federal drug convictions from fiscal years 1992-2021, there have been 6,577 offenders in which the only substance involved in the offense was marijuana.

The president pardoning 6,500 people sounds pretty incredible until we look at the number of people who are currently in custody. That number sits a zero.

You read that correctly. The president announced that he was going to free all the people convicted of federal marijuana possession — but there is no one to free. In an article earlier this month, the NY Daily News explained why that is:

First, presidential clemency extends only to federal offenders, who are less than 13% of all those imprisoned for serious crimes. The other 87% are state law violators subject to gubernatorial mercies.

Second, federal jurisdiction is limited to certain offenses, like drug and gun crimes that cross state or international borders.

Third, the feds have special law enforcement agencies, like Drug Enforcement Administration, that are not interested in small potatoes, such as street-level pushers — or pot possessors like those Biden pardoned. They're generally after big-time narcotics importers, manufacturers and distributors, and they're the ones who go to federal prisons.