LINDA VISTA, Calif. (KGTV) — President Biden's announcement to pardon people convicted of federal marijuana possession could help more than 6,500 people who were convicted between 1992 and 2021.
"It was at that bench right there that I got my first ticket for consuming cannabis," said Armand King, while pointing to a bench near the Linda Vista Recreation Center.
Eventually, King would go from smoking marijuana to selling it.
At 21 years old he was arrested with 10 pounds of cannabis and sentenced to three years in federal prison on a charge of conspiracy to sell marijuana.
"Instantly... from never being in trouble before, never going to jail before [to] three years in federal prison," King said.
When he got out, King said he struggled to get a job even after recreational marijuana became legal in California.
"You know how many jobs I was denied? How many jobs I had to check that box that I was a felon?" he said.
Under Biden's marijuana reform plan, anyone who has been or is currently convicted solely of a federal simple possession offense will be pardoned.
Since most convictions happen at the state level, he's also calling for all governors to do the same.
King applauds Biden. He said he knows countless people whose lives have been thwarted by their convictions.
"I'm hoping it relieves people that are getting denied opportunities... denied public housing, denied jobs. I'm hoping that stops instantly," King said.
King currently advocates for the decriminalization of marijuana.
Right now, he's working to get the city to adopt a social equity plan that will help even the playing field for people of color to own and operate cannabis businesses.
"[It] moves us forward towards finally, finally righting the wrong on the failed war on drugs that this city has been a part of," he said.
King said he plans to look into whether his charge of conspiracy to sell falls under Biden's pardon.
