Members of the New Jersey state Assembly approved legislation to decriminalize the possession and distribution of up to two ounces of marijuana by adults.
The post New Jersey: Assembly Lawmakers Approve Marijuana Decriminalization Legislation appeared first on NORML.
The move summarily pardons an estimated 15,000 people previously convicted of offenses involving the possession of up to one ounce of cannabis.
The post Nevada: Officials Approve Unconditional Pardons for Those with Low-Level Marijuana Convictions appeared first on NORML.
“The Governor and the other members of the Board are to be commended for taking this proactive stance. Our sense of justice and our principles of fairness demand that officials move swiftly to right the past wrongs of cannabis prohibition and criminalization.”
NORML leadership today sent an open letter to Nora D. Volkow, M.D., Director of the US National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), asking her to recognize the detrimental impact that racially-discriminatory marijuana law enforcement has had on the public health of communities of color.
“Just as doctors are entrusted to make decisions with regard to the supervised use of opioids and other medicines – many of which pose far greater risks to patients than cannabis – the law should provide doctors with similar flexibility when it comes to recommending cannabis therapy to a bona fide patient.”
“It is a positive sign that after years of heightened enforcement, we’re now seeing a downward trend in marijuana-related arrests in Virginia. Following the enactment of decriminalization on July 1, we expect to see an even more drastic reduction in these arrests — arrests that, historically, have disproportionately impacted the poor, the young, and people of color.”
“Suspicionless marijuana testing never has been an evidence-based policy. Rather, these discriminatory practices are a holdover from the zeitgeist of the 1980s ‘war on drugs.’ But times have changed; attitudes have changed, and in many places, the marijuana laws have changed. It is time for workplace policies to adapt to this new reality.”
“The current predicament of a rapidly expanding national marketplace without access to the national banking systems has resulted in an untenable situation.”
“Times have changed; attitudes have changed, and in many places, the marijuana laws have changed. It is time for workplace policies to adapt to this new reality.”
Mikel became Arizona NORML’s State Director in 2015. He was passionate in his reform advocacy endeavors, stating that “his main devotion is, and has been, advancing the work of Arizona NORML.” He was especially proud of the group’s successful efforts to reform the state’s medical cannabis access laws and was working on the state initiative to legalize marijuana at the time of his passing.
