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Writer's pictureDavid Benedicktus

Federal Legalization of Marijuana the Social Justice Issue of Our Time


The criminalization of possession of marijuana/cannabis has led to huge racial disparities in Marijuana arrests. This is clearly a black and white issue and represents a compelling social justice issue that needs to be at the forefront of justice reform. The More Act is currently in the House Judiciary Committee.


This bill decriminalizes marijuana. Specifically, it removes marijuana from the list of scheduled substances under the Controlled Substances Act and eliminates criminal penalties for an individual who manufactures, distributes, or possesses marijuana.


While there are bills being submitted to decriminalize and reschedule marijuana/cannabis it may take years for congress to act, this despite 70% of the voters approving of legalization.


To end this unnecessary suffering, and the huge costs of incarceration that wound our psyches through supporting this racist policy that disproportionately incarcerates BIPOC Americans for possession we must demand that President Biden and congress act now.



● Marijuana arrests now account for over half of all drug arrests in the United States.

● Of the 8.2 million marijuana arrests between 2001 and 2010, 88% were for simply having marijuana.

● Nationwide, the arrest data revealed one consistent trend: significant racial bias.

● Despite roughly equal usage rates, black people are 3.73 times more likely than white people to be arrested for marijuana.


Additionally, the Pew Research Center found that:


“As has long been the case, around nine-in-ten U.S. marijuana arrests are for possessing the drug, rather than selling or manufacturing it. In 2018, 92% of marijuana arrests were for possession and 8% were for selling or manufacturing. The share of marijuana arrests for possessing the drug has inched higher in recent years: In 2011, 87% of marijuana arrests were for possession and 13% were for selling or manufacturing it.”


President Biden can act now by the use his clemency powers to address this inequity. These powers allow him to grant clemency to nonviolent cannabis offenders, either individuals or as a group of people to address a clear injustice that cannot wait for congress to enact decriminalization and state expungement laws.


The continued criminalization and restrictive scheduling scheme for Marijuana as a Schedule I drug also limits access to needed funding for quality research. This is because as a Schedule I drug it is determined to have no medical benefits.


Research supports the medical benefits of cannabis as an adjunctive therapy and in some cases a primary therapy for a range of conditions. Here is a list from the Mayo Clinic website listing conditions where medical cannabis has been shown to help medical patients:


● Alzheimer's disease

● Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)

● HIV/AIDS

● Cancer

● Crohn's disease

● Epilepsy and seizures

● Glaucoma

● Multiple sclerosis and muscle spasms

● Severe and chronic pain

● Severe nausea


The lack of a regulations that would assure consumers of quality products as we do in regulation of agriculture products, and the herbal and vitamin industry.


We need to call our congressional representatives and senators and write President Biden to demand redress for the lingering injustice of the failed war on drugs. A war that disproportionately targets our BIPOC communities. A failed war on drugs that has cost us $100 billion year.


This failed policy goes on despite research from other countries as well as research in the United States supporting the clear medical benefits of cannabis and the need to look at marijuana and cannabis through a public health lens to deal with any potential social impacts of full legalization.


A case can certainly be made that given current economic conditions it is more important than ever that spending is effective and not a waste of taxpayer money as we have done in the war on drugs.


Currently 33 states and the District of Columbia (as well as other U.S. jurisdictions including Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands) have legalized marijuana for medical purposes and cannabis is now fully legalized in 18 states, the District of Columbia, the Northern Mariana Islands, and Guam. And another 13 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands have decriminalized its use.


Per the Collateral Consequences Resource Center, a nonprofit repository of state and federal restoration laws and policies, at least 11 states have automatic record expungement laws, but eligibility depends on the number of convictions and the type of crime.


MORE Act of 2021 H.R.3617 Co-Sponsored by Chuck Schumer, Cory Booker and Ron Weinstein

This bill decriminalizes marijuana.

Specifically, it removes marijuana from the list of scheduled substances under the Controlled Substances Act and eliminates criminal penalties for an individual who manufactures, distributes, or possesses marijuana.

The bill also makes other changes, including the following:

● replaces statutory references to marijuana and marihuana with cannabis,

● requires the Bureau of Labor Statistics to regularly publish demographic data on cannabis business owners and employees,

● establishes a trust fund to support various programs and services for individuals and businesses in communities impacted by the war on drugs,

● imposes an excise tax on cannabis products produced in or imported into the United States and an occupational tax on cannabis production facilities and export warehouses,

● makes Small Business Administration loans and services available to entities that are cannabis-related legitimate businesses or service providers,

● prohibits the denial of federal public benefits to a person on the basis of certain cannabis-related conduct or convictions,

● prohibits the denial of benefits and protections under immigration laws on the basis of a cannabis-related event (e.g., conduct or a conviction),

● establishes a process to expunge convictions and conduct sentencing review hearings related to federal cannabis offenses, and

● directs the Government Accountability Office to study the societal impact of cannabis legalization.


Resource Links:

https://www.plantmedicinecoalition.org/

https://mjbizdaily.com/south-carolina-congresswoman-mace-to-unveil-federal-marijuana-legalization-bill/




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