President Joe Biden is using the last days of his presidency to pursue some of the long-term goals of the administration, particularly when it comes to issues of drugs, whether legal or criminalized. Three moves by Biden in his last week as president impacted the criminal records of thousands of people convicted of drug offenses while potentially putting significant restrictions on a legally addictive substance and lowering the prices of a variety of popular medicines.

Biden breaks record for commutations with latest drug offense commutations

Biden announced Friday that he is “commuting the sentences of nearly 2,500 people convicted of non-violent drug offenses who are serving disproportionately long sentences compared to the sentences they would receive today.” While the full details of the commutations, such as how these individuals were selected, were unavailable, the president’s statement did clarify that he focused on giving “relief for individuals who received lengthy sentences based on discredited distinctions between crack and powder cocaine, as well as outdated sentencing enhancements for drug crimes.”

These commutations are the latest of several mass commutations Biden has issued, which started with dozens of drug-related commutations in 2022 and more recently including nearly 1,500 commutations and pardons in December and the commutation of almost all of the 40 federal death row inmates’ sentences to life in prison. Biden also controversially pardoned his son Hunter, who has a long history of drug addiction that factored into some of his now-cleared legal issues. Biden noted in Friday’s statement that with the latest commutations, “I have now issued more individual pardons and commutations than any president in U.S. history.”

Biden pushes new regulations on nicotine and lowered prescription drug prices

The Biden administration also announced two new policies relating to legal drugs. On Wednesday, “the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a proposed rule that, if finalized, would make cigarettes and certain other combusted tobacco products minimally or nonaddictive by limiting the level of nicotine in those products.” FDA Commissioner Robert Califf stated in remarks that the restrictions on the amount of nicotine allowed in cigarettes were intended to prevent young people from becoming addicted to smoking and to help current smokers quit more easily, which “could save many lives and dramatically reduce the burden of severe illness and disability, while also saving huge amounts of money.” The FDA is still soliciting feedback for the new regulations, which, if implemented, would be the first of their kind for any country in the world.

On Friday, the White House also announced that it was expanding a policy implemented through the Inflation Reduction Act by negotiating lower prices for an additional 15 drugs through Medicare. It adds to the list of ten drugs that previously had their prices negotiated through Medicare. The new list of drugs targeted for price reduction includes the popular weight-loss and diabetes drugs sold under the brand names Ozempic, Rybelsus and Wegovy. It also includes several other medicines for diabetes as well as medications for asthma and various types of cancer, such as breast cancer and prostate cancer.

“The Inflation Reduction Act is delivering and putting money back in seniors’ pockets across the country,” Biden said in a tweet announcing the new drug negotiations.

With President-elect Trump set to be inaugurated on Monday, these actions may be some of the last significant acts Biden implements. In pushing through these policies, Biden takes a few last steps toward setting a legacy of improving justice, health and economic security for people across the country.

President Joe Biden