Friend,

Did you watch the third installment of the Democratic presidential debates last night? The 90 minute conversation touched on a multitude of issues including health care, immigration, the economy, and foreign policy. It also included a substantive discussion on the war on drugs, particularly in regards to marijuana, and criminal justice reform. Drug Policy Action has worked hard to make these central campaign issues and is proud to see them be routinely discussed throughout the debates. Drug Policy Action is the advocacy and political arm of the Drug Policy Alliance.

The candidates, as moderator Linsey Davis said, “all believe that the war on drugs has put too many Americans behind bars.” However, they did not all agree on how to address the mass criminalization caused by the war on drugs.

Vice President Joe Biden made some strong points stating that people who are released from prison should be able to vote, and not face unjust barriers to housing, jobs and education. He also offered that no one should be in jail because they struggle with problematic drug use.

The former Vice President then argued that no one should go to prison for marijuana but he did not agree that marijuana should be legal. Instead, he advocated that marijuana continue to be criminalized as a misdemeanor. This is bad policy and just plain wrong. Misdemeanor charges still needlessly saddle individuals with a criminal record and the burden of navigating the criminal justice system for something that is now legal in 11 states and Washington DC.

Instead of reducing marijuana charges to misdemeanors, we need the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act (MORE Act). This comprehensive reform bill would remove marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act, thus decriminalizing the substance at the federal level and enabling states to set their own policies on the legalization of adult use.

The MORE Act would establish a fund that would allocate marijuana tax revenue to communities negatively impacted by the war on drugs for record expungement, youth resources, equitable marijuana licensing programs, access to the industry for impacted communities, and more. The Act would also correct historic injustices associated with prohibition, including by preventing the government from denying an individual federal benefits or financial aid because of marijuana use, and protecting immigrants from deportation based solely on a marijuana infraction.

Further, the bill would finally permit the marijuana industry to access financial services that other legal businesses already use and to receive tax relief. It would also enable research and allow Veterans Administration doctors to recommend medical marijuana without risk of federal prosecution.

Reducing marijuana charges to misdemeanors is not enough. Drug Policy Action is urging all the candidates to support comprehensive federal legislation like the MORE Act.

Sincerely,

Michael Collins
Director, Office of National Affairs
Drug Policy Action

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