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Ben & Jerry's celebrates 4/20 with a call for criminal justice reform, warning Congress that without it, the legalization of marijuana is a "half-cooked" idea.
In a video tweeted Saturday, known as the annual stoners' party, the ice cream brand pointed out that in terms of pot, those who profit from it and those who are punished do not tend to look alike.
"Have you ever noticed how much of the people who make legalized cannabis are white? But are disproportionate numbers of people arrested for using cannabis black? ", She asked, demanding that the authorities begin to" ensure that legalization does not leave people of color on the side and suppresses everyone's convictions for cannabis "
In a statement released on Friday, Ben & Jerry's also urged lawmakers to "grant a pardon / amnesty to anyone whose only crime was possession of cannabis," adding that cities such as San Francisco had already taken the lead.
The company also issued a call for action to prosecutors, noting that some big city lawyers were no longer pursuing marijuana possession cases.
Ten states, in addition to Washington DC, have legalized marijuana for recreational purposes, while 33 states have approved it for medical use.
However, this does not mean that arrests are decreasing.
According to an FBI report on criminal statistics published in September and written by Forbes, marijuana arrests increased by more than 6,400 between 2016 and 2017, aimed primarily at possession rather than production or distribution.
In 2013, a report by the American Civil Liberties Union revealed that Americans use the pot at about the same rate regardless of their race – but that a black person is nearly four times more likely to be arrested for possession only a blank.
In addition, the report – which examined the arrests from 2001 to 2010 – concluded that more than 8 million were related to marijuana. This equates to 97 busts per hour.
Now, Ben & Jerry's is launching a petition on its website, which has collected about 23,390 signatures.
Senator Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Presidential Candidate of 2020, leads the charge at the current Congress. In February, he introduced his Marijuana Justice Act, which aims to legalize the pot across the country and to clear criminal records of federal convictions while allowing the prosecution to seek a reduction of sentence.
The bill has also received support from other Democratic candidates, with the co-sponsorship of Sens. Bernie Sanders (Italy), Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Kirsten Gillibrand (DN.Y.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Maj.).
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