Communities of color in America are grappling with multiple threats to their health and safety: the COVID-19 pandemic, the menace of mass incarceration and the deadly epidemic of police brutality and violence.
The consensus is clear: Marijuana criminalization is a tool of oppression, not public safety. Federally decriminalizing marijuana will not heal the deep wounds caused by decades of biased enforcement, but it is a critical step toward a more fair, just and trustworthy legal system.
Meanwhile, a new poll found that support for legal marijuana is at a new high of 68% amongst U.S. adults. As a long-time congressional champion for criminal justice reform as well as an original cosponsor of the MORE Act in the House, and the elected prosecutor for the city of Baltimore, we have both witnessed the harms of marijuana criminalization. And we are proud to stand with our law enforcement and criminal justice colleagues who signed a joint statement calling on Congress to enact the reforms set forth in the MORE Act. This is an opportunity for the United States to lead on social, economic and restorative justice, and we urge members of Congress to seize it.
Source: Federal marijuana decriminalization now – New York Daily News
