(BBC) President Joe Biden is issuing an executive order pardoning all Americans who have been federally convicted of possessing small amounts of marijuana.
The move will only affect a relatively small number of cannabis convictions since most occur at the state level.
Mr Biden’s announcement stops short of a full decriminalisation of pot, which he promised as a presidential candidate.
Recent polls show that a majority of Americans believe weed should be legal.
“Sending people to prison for possessing marijuana has upended too many lives and incarcerated people for conduct that many states no longer prohibit,” Mr Biden said in a statement on Thursday.
He added that racial minorities were statistically far more likely to be jailed for cannabis.
As a White House candidate, Mr Biden was criticised for writing a 1994 crime bill that stiffened penalties for drug crimes and led to more incarceration of racial minorities.