LOS ANGELES — Beard Bros Pharms, a legacy brand on the leading edge of the legal cannabis industry, is calling on President Joe Biden to grant a full pardon and release 56-year old Edwin Rubis from federal prison where he has served 27 years of a 40 year sentence after being convicted on non-violent cannabis related charges in the late 1990s.
President Biden has acknowledged “America’s failed approach to marijuana” but has so far failed to deliver on any meaningful reform. The Biden administration is touting their actions on October 6, 2022 when the president issued a general pardon for all previous crimes of simple cannabis possession in violation of federal law and the D.C. Code. In January 2024, the president expanded the pardon to cover offenses for cannabis use and simple possession. All of the crimes mentioned are simple misdemeanors and these moves by the White House have led to zero pardons for federal inmates doing time for non-violent cannabis crimes. Edwin Rubis is not the only prisoner who fits that description but his continued incarceration is a reminder of the half-steps taken by this administration when it comes to cannabis reform and his immediate release would signal the Democratic Party’s commitment to future criminal justice reform.
Since he is not seeking re-election, President Biden has just over two months until Election Day and just over four months until a new president is sworn in on Inauguration Day 2025 to right what he calls “historic wrongs” and grant Edwin Rubis a full presidential pardon.
According to the United States Sentencing Commission, the average sentence for offenders convicted of rape was 178 months in 2022, or just under 15 years. Edwin Rubis is in his 27th year behind bars for conspiracy and distribution charges surrounding a plant that is now a legal commodity in a majority of the country.
As a son, a father, a brother, a human being, Edwin Rubis looks forward to putting his multiple college degrees to work as a guidance counselor upon his release. Every day he remains incarcerated just deepens the injustice of his sentence, and President Biden’s complicity in it.
“It is time for our president to take action. Rhetoric is no longer effective at this late stage of the game,” Rubis said in a January 2024 article in the New York Post.
Beard Bros Pharms will be utilizing its reach and influence in the cannabis space and beyond to apply political pressure on the Biden/Harris administration to focus prior and current efforts to free Edwin Rubis into one united push.
About Edwin Rubis
Edwin Rubis is serving a de facto life sentence in federal prison for conspiracy to possess and distribute marijuana. Convicted in 1998, Edwin has watched from behind bars as states have continued to legalize cannabis for recreational use and reap the benefits.
About Beard Bros Pharms
Beard Bros Pharms is an award-winning multinational cannabis brand. They also provide industry information, insights, and guidance to cannabis professionals and consumers via their weekly newsletters and social media presence. With over two decades of cannabis production and grassroots advocacy and activism, Beard Bros combines deep legacy cannabis experience with a commitment to quality and justice.
About Freedom Grow
Freedom Grow is an all-volunteer non-profit 501c3 organization. We help cannabis prisoners regain freedom while we support their sacrifices through ‘The Wish Program’. The Wish Program helps prisoners with commissary money, books, magazines, family outreach, and public education.
