Donna A. Patterson
The Justice department will begin releasing inmates who
committed nonviolent drug crimes at the end of this month. This
decision comes off the heels of President Obama's July decision to
commute the sentences of 46 drug offenders. Releases will be timed, and
the former offenders will be subjected to a transitional period that
includes the oversight of probation offices and, in some cases, time
spent at halfway houses. The type of drug offenses vary in these cases,
but certainly some of them involve the possession and sale of marijuana.
Rapidly changing public opinion and government policy on the use and
possession of marijuana will lead to shifts in how marijuana consumption
and distribution are "policed" in the United States.
In the past
two years, several states either legalized marijuana (Colorado, Oregon,
Alaska, Washington) or approved it for medical use (Massachusetts,
Nevada, Delaware, and New Hampshire). Of course, the state of California
has been a forerunner in this policy shift, having legalized the
medical use of this plant in 1996, and it presently has a fairly
organized legal medical distribution network in place. California and
Colorado are two sites with a booming, organized system of legal
marijuana production and sale.
The growing push for the
legalization of marijuana is a major shift from the War on Drugs
policies of the 1980s and 1990s and the subsequent three strikes
legislation. Before former Attorney General Eric Holder left office, he
called for another review of how low-level, nonviolent drug offenders
are being prosecuted. Given recent decisions in the Executive and
Judiciary branches of government, it looks like these calls were heeded.
Despite movement towards legalizing mass or medical consumption
of cannabis in a number of states, marijuana convictions vary between
and sometimes within states. For instance, in New York State, marijuana
is officially decriminalized, but penalties for carrying small
quantities of the drug vary and can range from a maximum fine of $100 to
a misdemeanor.
And not all crimes of cannabis are treated equally. Most marijuana convictions in New York take place in NYC,
where young men mostly of African or Hispanic descent are targets of
"stop and frisk" policies. These policies were created to reduce violent
crime but instead have become an entry point for introducing nonviolent
offenders into the legal system. When a young man is stopped and forced
to empty his pockets, the drug is in "public view" thereby opening the
possibility of arrest and an eventual misdemeanor.
Similarly, in Massachusetts,
"stop and frisk" policies disproportionately affect African American
and Latino men. Members of the Black Lives Matters movement have also
discussed disproportionate policing
of consumers of color with 2016 presidential candidates. Someone
walking in Dorchester is much more likely to get stopped without any
reported criminal activity than someone walking in the suburban towns
like Wellesley and Sudbury, Massachusetts. While citizens of different
backgrounds are calling for a change in marijuana policy,
decriminalization efforts have not benefited communities of color as
much as other communities.
As public opinion surrounding the
medical and recreational use of marijuana continues to change and the
spotlight on inequities in urban-suburban "stop and frisk" policies
continues to grow, consumer convictions of drug possession will likely
decrease. In addition, as more states legalize the sale and consumption
of marijuana, prior offenses will get commuted or overturned. It remains
to be seen if these continuing changes, like the drug policies
currently in American existence, will help some and hurt others, or if
all citizens will benefit as communities across the country stop waging a
war against those who've used drugs.
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