Hey there —

Yesterday was 420, a day where people across the country celebrate marijuana. But for some, this holiday is just another reminder of the inexcusable discrimination that permeates our country.

Too many people of color are sitting in jail on low-level marijuana charges. Even though white people and people of color use marijuana at roughly the same rate, people of color are arrested at much higher rates.

Decades of drug policy have disproportionately harmed communities of color. I’ve supported the Marijuana Justice Act, which would make marijuana legal at the federal level and would expunge the convictions of individuals who served federal time for possession and use offenses. It would also reinvest in communities of color.

We legalized the recreational use of marijuana in Colorado years ago. It’s time for the federal government to catch up. Add your name to our petition demanding marijuana be legalized at the federal level.

There is no doubt the War on Drugs has exacerbated inequality and fueled mass incarceration. That’s wrong. It’s time to change our outdated, unjust laws for good.

— Team Bennet