We can no longer afford to waste away true potential.īrittany K. Barnett is an award-winning attorney, author and criminal justice reform advocate.The new “Communities Not Cages” coalition is pushing for passage of three new bills that would eliminate mandatory minimum prison sentences in the state and offer incarcerated New Yorkers more opportunities to have their sentences revisited and shortened.Ĭourtesy Center for Community AlternativesMembers of the “Communities Not Cages” coalition rallied in Lower Manhattan on Wednesday. With a simple stroke of his pen, President Joe Biden could right many of the most egregious wrongs from the federal war on drugs and would do well to commit now to granting categorical clemencies to anyone still unjustly imprisoned today under yesterday’s drug laws.
Marijuana justice must be a priority for our country’s political agenda. The ripple effect of their liberation will have a positive impact on their communities and lead us closer to systemic change. Give clemency to those who deserve it.Įmbracing marijuana justice means releasing and restoring individuals unjustly incarcerated under outdated drug laws. In fact, national legalization in the United States could result in $128.8 billion in tax revenue and an estimated 1.6 million new jobs.ĬOLUMN: COVID-19 concerns sent thousands of inmates home. Nearly every state with legal cannabis has deemed marijuana businesses to be essential. And as an industry that employs more than 300,000 workers, it is one of the fastest-growing industries in America. States across the country are increasingly choosing the cannabis industry as a source of tax revenue and job growth. Unemployment rates are soaring due to the pandemic. Now, Cooper not only serves as brand ambassador for 40 Tons, a Black, female-owned premium cannabis, clothing and accessories brand, but he also dedicates much of his life to fighting for restorative justice for other victims of draconian drug laws.
In 2014, Cooper was sentenced to life without parole for his participation in a conspiracy to distribute marijuana. In a world where businesses were legally profiting from the plant, Cooper was set to die in prison, hundreds of miles away from his mother and two young daughters. The Buried Alive Project was privileged to work alongside numerous activists such as Alice Marie Johnson and advocacy groups, including Last Prisoner Project and 40 Tons, to see Cooper receive executive clemency earlier this year.ĬOLUMN: Cop killing of teen shows how child welfare, police derail young Black and brown lives My friend Corvain Cooper was one of those people. This injustice and inequity is especially evident when we see people earning a life savings from the sale of marijuana, while others continue to serve life sentences under draconian federal drug laws. We know that marijuana laws have disproportionately negative impacts on Black and brown communities. This begins with ending the criminalization of marijuana. In part, achieving this means having a strategic and intentional focus on righting the wrongs of the war on drugs.
The Biden administration has made racial equity a core priority.
This growing acceptance by governors and state lawmakers is just a small step toward rectifying a criminal justice system that has ravaged communities of color with draconian drug laws and the failed war on drugs. On the heels of a historic vote in Virginia, making it the 16th state in the USA to legalize recreational marijuana use, cannabis legalization is gaining momentum. Watch Video: The future of marijuana legalization