There is hope that Donald Trump will pardon cannabis related crimes

President Trump is about to leave office, but he could do something great for the marijuana prisoners before he leaves. At least that's the opinion of a group of celebrities, civil rights activists, and Republican officials who wrote a letter to Trump last week. The group has urged President Trump to pardon or commute sentences to those in federal prisons who commit nonviolent offenses against the Marijuana Regulation. The signatories of the letter "firmly believe that in these cases the judiciary requires the exercise of the grace of the executive". The letter contains a specific list of 24 people currently behind bars for cannabis offenses, including several serving life sentences. "They have expressed their support for the right of states to implement their own cannabis laws, particularly for medicinal purposes," the signatories wrote. "And while a number of proposals are being tabled in Congress to finally put an end to cannabis prohibition, they tend not to provide any real relief to those incarcerated over cannabis sales." "Given the timidity of this bill, the deadlock in Congress and the imperative of freedom, grace is the right way to solve this problem," it said. "You and you alone have the power to conjure up a great deal of hypocrisy from previous administrations. While cannabis became a thriving, legal market and enriched many, your predecessors ignored the people who long - and are - at the federal level because they did the same. Among the 50+ signatories to the new letter is Alice Johnson, whose story was featured in Trump campaign ads after her drug sentence was commuted by the president. Also on the list of signatories are former NBA star Kevin Garnett and Republican lawmakers from Kansas, Maine and Missouri who have also signed.