Dank Brandon: a few questions about Biden's pot pardons.

President Joe Biden’s surprise announcement to issue pardons to people charged with simple pot possession by the federal government is a great development. Although the federal prison population is small compared to people incarcerated by the states, states often follow the lead of the federal government on criminal justice policy. The administration claims up to 6,500 people will be eligible for the federal pardon.

It’s a good move and it’s very savvy politics. A dramatic executive order on marijuana—which a large majority of Americans view as a harmless drug that should not be criminalized—is a coup ahead of the midterms. Republicans are left to unconvincingly snivel about crime, as Tom Cotton did. “In the midst of a crime wave and on the brink of a recession, Joe Biden is giving blanket pardons to drug offenders—many of whom pled down from more serious charges,” Cotton whined. Biden is also enticingly dangling the prospect to rescheduling pot.

So it’s great! Really great. But I have a few questions.

Where did the administration come up with 6,500? There are 81,900 people serving time in the federal system for offenses where drugs were the most severe charge as of September 2016. But 99 percent of those were trafficking, distribution, sales, intent to sell—charges that are not covered by Biden’s directive. If you look at drug possession alone that means roughly 819 people are incarcerated for drug possession—it’s not clear how many were for marijuana, but imagine a small minority of that 1 percent.