Senator Cory Booker gets serious about ending prohibition.
#politics #legalization
Last Wednesday, New Jersey Senator Cory Booker introduced a bill ending the federal prohibition on marijuana. The “Marijuana Justice Act” seeks to address the inequality minorities face with current controlled substance laws.
What are the details?
The bill’s benefits are far-reaching, the Senator said in a Facebook live feed. If passed, individual states would be allowed decide their own cannabis legislature. Those that maintain prohibition, however, face the possibility of losing federal funding if they are found to disproportionally incarcerate minorities over marijuana offenses (a major issue, according to an ACLU study).
Additional aspects of the bill focus on:
- The creation of a $500 million fund to “establish a grant program to reinvest in communities most affected by the war on drugs.”
- Prevent deportation of marijuana offenders.
- Create a process to expunge and rehabilitate people currently serving time for cannabis offenses.
Will this bill even pass?
Despite a low likelihood of the bill passing in a Republican-controlled congress, the bill is an important step in furthering the public conversation of legalization. Senator Booker is no fringe politician, and understands the significant issues the have resulted from the War on Drugs. The well-researched “Marijuana Justice Act” places the topic of racial inequality in cannabis prohibition front and center. [tweet this]
