President Joe Biden was lauded from coast-to-coast after announcing his plan to pardon those convicted of minor marijuana crimes. Nearly two months after the announcement (at the time of writing, it is December 2022), it’s finally dawning on some people that Biden’s pot pardons only go so far. In fact, the total number of people actually helped by the pardons is negligible.

In total, an estimated 6,500 people were eligible for a pardon. There are two reasons for this. First, the president only pardoned people convicted of simple possession. Second, the pardons only apply to federal crimes. People convicted of marijuana crimes under state law are not eligible for the simple fact that the president only has pardoning authority at the federal level.

What Constitutes a Federal Crime

So many people are confused about the pardons because they don’t understand what constitutes a federal crime. In the simplest possible terms, a federal crime is any violation of federal law. Because marijuana is still illegal at the federal level, anyone caught possessing the drug could be prosecuted by federal prosecutors. But that’s not normally how it works.

Take the state of Utah, where a company operating under the name Deseret Wellness runs medical cannabis pharmacies in Provo and Park City. Because medical cannabis is legal in the state, federal prosecutors do not tend to get involved in local marijuana crimes. The Deseret Wellness folks say that state and local prosecutors charge suspects under state law.

There is an exception to the rule, an exception observed in the case of a former Utah resident who got her pardon from the president. Now living in Los Angeles, the woman was originally convicted of simple possession after she was caught on the Mount Olympus Trail with marijuana in 2010. The trail is located on federal land, so she was prosecuted under federal law.

Had she not been on federal land, she would have been prosecuted under state law. That would have made her ineligible for the Biden pot pardon. Similarly, how many tens of thousands of convicted marijuana offenders remain in jail because they were convicted of state crimes?

It’s How the System Works

Whether or not the pardon scenario is fair, that’s the way the system works. The U.S. Constitution was established in such a way as to create a distinct separation of powers between government branches and between Washington and the states. Legal matters not explicitly addressed in the Constitution are left to the states. As such, there are innumerable examples of inconsistent laws throughout the country.

Going back to Utah as an example, cannabis is only approved for medical purposes there. In neighboring Colorado, both medical and recreational use are legal. Marijuana in any form is still illegal in Idaho.

Federal Law Reigns Supreme

The interesting thing is that federal law reigns supreme in this particular area. The Constitution gives federal regulators authority to ban marijuana across the board – which they did in the 1970s. And yet, federal law enforcement has gradually turned a blind eye toward state-legal cannabis since the late 1990s. Even today, they still don’t aggressively investigate and prosecute marijuana crimes.

A lack of federal action is a source of consternation among those who think that marijuana should still be illegal. It is a source of frustration among state lawmakers and law enforcement officials who constantly have to walk the fine line between state and federal regulations. And of course, it is a source of frustration among consumers who choose to use cannabis.

President Biden’s recent pot pardons only went so far. They only helped a limited number of people convicted under federal law. Now you know why.