Sisters and Brothers -

We have a criminal justice system today that is not only broken — it is racist and it is unjust. Unbelievably, we have more people in jail than any other country on earth, and we have a private prison industry which profits from keeping those people behind bars.

One of the reasons for our high rate of incarceration is the horrific and failed War on Drugs. This "war," like many other wars, has been a complete disaster. It has destroyed people's lives and it has destroyed entire communities. Many thousands of Americans, often Black and Brown, are sitting in jail today because of marijuana convictions or because they can't afford bail.

That injustice must end.

We must reform our broken and racist criminal justice system, and one of the ways we can do that is by finally legalizing marijuana at the federal level.

It starts with changing the Federal Controlled Substances Act which, if you can believe it, currently puts marijuana in the same category as heroin. That's absurd and defies all scientific judgment. You can like marijuana or dislike marijuana, but almost nobody believes that it is as dangerous as a killer substance like heroin.

The good news is that in recent years, we have seen state after state decriminalize marijuana, and we have seen communities expunge the criminal records related to marijuana offenses. What we are now seeing is a radical change of consciousness among the American people on this issue.

So now is the time for Congress and the federal government to end the war on drugs and legalize marijuana nationwide. Please add your name if you agree:

Sign my petition — it's time to legalize marijuana at the federal level, expunge past marijuana convictions, and end the failed War on Drugs.

While it is very important that we lead the fight for legalizing marijuana and expunging the records related to marijuana charges, we can and must do more.

Here's a radical idea:

Instead of arresting poor Americans — disproportionately African American and Latino — for possessing marijuana, let's start prosecuting the crooks on Wall Street for laundering money from drug cartels, suspected terrorists and corrupt foreign officials.

Let's provide support to the African American, Latino, and Native American communities to start businesses to sell legalized marijuana rather than let a few corporations control the legalized marijuana market.

Let's end the decades-long assault on communities of color, and ensure that revenue from legal marijuana is reinvested in the communities that were hit hardest, especially African American communities and other communities of color.

In addition to being a racial justice issue, marijuana legalization is also an economic justice issue. When you fill out an application for a job, one of the first questions you are asked is whether or not you have a criminal record. It is extremely unfair for people to be denied jobs because they were once arrested for smoking marijuana. Enough is enough.

The vast majority of Americans support legalizing marijuana nationwide. Today, I am asking you to make your voice heard on this issue:

Add your name to my petition if you agree we must legalize marijuana, expunge records with marijuana convictions, and end the failed War on Drugs once and for all.

At the end of the day, no one should get arrested for possessing marijuana. It's time to bring an end to this decades-long assault.

Thank you for adding your name to show that we are together in that effort.

In solidarity,

Bernie Sanders