President Will Use Clemency Powers to Commute Sentences of Non-Violent Drug Offenders

Around eighty non-violent drug prisoners could be freed within weeks

The War on Drugs in America has resulted in overcrowded prisons, draconian penalties and often the highest incarceration rate in the world. President Obama is expected to soon begin loosening the tight grip that overzealous drug policies have had upon America's people and policies since the 1970s.

According to the New York Times, presidential aides expect Mr. Obama to free dozens of federal prisoners in the coming weeks. If and when this happens, President Obama will have commuted more sentences than anyone else who has held the office over the past several decades.

Such action would be a small effort to correct years of troublesome, damaging policies, the many short- and long-term sanctions of which have been an oft-repeated complaint of the pro-pot and anti-drug war communities. Disproportionate sentences for first-time and/or non-violent drug offenses destroy reputations, families, finances and futures. Additionally, some activists argue that incarceration is a much more American priority than rehabilitation, especially with regards to privatization of prisons. Perhaps one of the most pressing dilemmas, especially in light of the currently heightened racial tensions in the United States, is that minorities are profiled and arrested at a much higher rate than in the white community, where drug consumption rates are similar or even higher, depending upon which substance is studied.

The NYT piece suggests that around eighty commutations will take place over the next few weeks, a number that does not even begin to chip away at the over 30,000 clemency applications currently outstanding. The backlog is due to the rush of applicants responding to the Obama's administration's request for applications, which was compounded by an inefficient review process.

In April of last year, the United States Sentencing Commission voted to reduce most drug-related penalties; three months later, the commission unanimously agreed to make the penalty changes retroactive. While this was done to reduce prison spending and overcrowding, it was also the first sense of hope that federal drug prisoners might not be forced to serve such long stints in prison.

President Obama continues to uphold that hope with his ability to grant clemency.