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Although marijuana has been legalized – at least for medical purposes – in more than half of the country, it remains banned by the federal government, which still considers cannabis on a par with heroin. . Ilhan Omar, a congressman in Minnesota, said Saturday morning that she felt it was time for the US to legalize the pot at the national level and retroactively erase the criminal record of those who had already been incarcerated for marijuana.
"The criminalization of cannabis has a disproportionate impact on communities of color," wrote Omar on Twitter on Saturday morning. "We must finally legalize cannabis nationwide and clear the archives of people incarcerated for cannabis-related offenses."
According to American Civil Liberties UnionOmar's statement about the arrests of marijuana disproportionately affecting people of color was accurate. An ACLU study found that between 2001 and 2010, blacks were four times more likely than whites to be arrested on marijuana-related charges, while cannabis was used by the same percentage of people belonging to one or the other of these two breeds.
Even if the 50 states were to legalize recreational use, its current status as a Schedule I drug at the federal level would mean that the Drug Enforcement Administration could arrest people and block businesses for violating federal law.
For several years, Congress has effectively prevented the DEA from intervening in states legalizing marijuana for medical purposes, including in government funding bills that temporarily prohibited the Department of Justice from using appropriate funds through Congress to prevent these states from the use, distribution, possession or cultivation of marijuana for medical purposes. "
In 2017, Jeff Sessions, Attorney General of the time, a registered marijuana opponent, wrote to Congress, unsuccessfully asking lawmakers to end this ban and let the DEA launch as a result of 39, pot operations legalized by the state.
"I think it would be unwise for Congress to limit the Department to fund particular lawsuits, especially in the midst of a historic drug epidemic and a potentially lasting rise in violent crime," he said. we read in the letter. "The Department must be able to use all available laws to fight against transnational drug organizations and dangerous drug traffickers who threaten American lives."
Expect legalization to be a topic of discussion in the 2020 presidential campaign. Nearly all current Democratic candidates openly support legalization at the national level or believe that the federal government should not intervene in states where the drug has been legalized. Some, including Senator Cory Booker, have introduced or supported legislation to legalize the pot throughout the country.
Trump, during the 2016 campaign, declared his support for marijuana for medical purposes, but his subsequent hiring of Sessions as Attorney General raised questions about the president's real intentions. His subsequent appointment of William Barr to replace Sessions did little to alleviate these concerns. At a recent hearing before the Senate, Barr said he was in favor of a federal law banning the pot throughout the country.
"Personally, I would still be in favor of a uniform federal rule against marijuana," Barr said at the hearing. "But if there is not enough consensus to get it, I think the best solution is to allow a more federal approach so that states can, you know, take their own decisions under the federal law, so we are not just ignoring the application of federal law. "
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