As part of a new initiative to reform harsh drug sentencing laws, President Obama plans to grant clemency to hundreds, or even thousands, of nonviolent drug offenders, according to some reports.

On Monday, White House spokesman Jay Carney announced that the president "has asked the Justice Department to set up a process to ensure that anyone who has a good case for commutation has their application seen and evaluated," reports CBS News.

This is a big step for Obama, who has used his pardon powers significantly less than other modern-day U.S. presidents. CBS News reports that he granted only 52 out of 1,600 pardon requests and just nine out of 10,000 commutation requests to reduce a sentence.

Although the White House has declined to put a number on the amount of pardons that Obama will give, Yahoo! News reports that the Obama administration is planning to grant clemency to "hundreds, perhaps thousands" of nonviolent drug offenders before the end of his second term. Carney, however, said it will "depend entirely on the number of worthy candidates, and in terms of how many deserving candidates are out there, I couldn't begin to speculate." He added that "The president believes that everyone should have a fair shot under the system for consideration."

Yahoo also reports that the Obama administration will reform the Justice Department's Office of the Pardon Attorney in preparation for the clemency overhaul.

In response, advocates against strict drug sentencing laws praised the clemency push, which is part of a larger effort by the Obama administration to scale back on harsh and disproportionate sentencing, called the "Smart on Crime" initiative.

"We're thrilled that the administration is contemplating a very robust overhaul of the clemency process and also contemplating opening the process for many more deserving prisoners than its been available to in the past," said Mary Price, General Counsel of Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM), according to The Nation. "But mercy is not a substitute for reform."