Equally important to reforms around social equity and social justice is police reform.
An important part of police reform is ending the War on Drugs, especially the federal prohibition of cannabis. As indicated in our earlier content this week, the arrest rates for cannabis offenses in America are skewed towards our black and brown communities.
In the wake of the recent death of George Floyd and others, many have called to defund the police and for other reforms aimed at decreasing police power and presence in America. As part of these calls for reform, many are advocating for legalizing cannabis and ending the War on Drugs.
In a recent speech on the Senate floor, Senator Bernie Sanders stated: “State after state have moved to legalize marijuana, and it is time for the federal government to do the same. When we talk about police department reform, we must end police officers continuing to arrest, search or jail the people of our country, predominantly people of color, for using marijuana.”
Similar to the call from Senator Sanders, Portland, Oregon Mayor Ted Wheeler has announced that the city will redirect $12 million dollars in cannabis tax revenue from the police department to support communities of color.
In Georgia, lawmakers have included cannabis decriminalization provisions in a recently introduced police reform bill.
Earlier this year, Virginia passed a law decriminalizing cannabis. While such decriminalization efforts do not go far enough, it is at least a start against the policing tactics that have preyed upon low-level cannabis offenders as low hanging fruit for decades.
Although police reform is badly needed in this country, including abolishing the absurdity that is “qualified immunity”, one of the most important parts of police reform is the outright legalization of cannabis. We must demand that federal lawmakers end the criminalization of cannabis by descheduling the substance and implementing regulations that allow all those who wish to participate in the industry a seat at the table.
No one should be serving a lengthy prison sentence for possessing cannabis. We must level the playing field when it comes to cannabis, and the cannabis industry should proudly profess its support for reforms at all levels of government.
The cannabis industry, just like our country, will not enjoy true freedom until we are all equal.
This week’s War on Drugs coverage brought to you by The Leafy Lawyer.
