[link removed] [[link removed]]
[[link removed]]
Hi John,
It is time for North Carolina’s citizens to have controlled access to cannabis – both medical purposes, as well as for recreational access. We need to automatically expunge the records of those arrested or convicted for non-violent possession of marijuana of 1 ½ ounces or less. We can use revenue from the legalization of its distribution to pay for better schools, reduced college tuition, and more access to drug and alcohol treatment. In North Carolina, controlled access just makes sense.
Recent polling shows 80% of North Carolina voters support controlled access for medical purposes. Simple marijuana arrests constitute more than 60% of North Carolina’s drug possession arrests. The vast majority of these arrests are young men of color. Controlled access means we could expand alternatives to prison for non-violent crimes. People with substance use health issues would no longer be treated as criminals. Decriminalizing drug possession would remove a major cause of incarceration of primary people of color.
Controlled access can generate $450 million in new revenues each year, based upon results from the states where marijuana is legal. According to Harvard economics professor Jeff Miron, “Prohibition has cost American taxpayers more than $1 trillion and has been largely ineffective in decreasing marijuana use.” Like other states, we could direct the funds to improve our schools, expand healthcare benefits, and control tuitions at college campuses.
"In the past 50 years, the war on cannabis has destroyed families, filled prisons with nonviolent offenders, and disproportionately disrupted black and brown communities. Each year, law enforcement across the nation has spent billions of dollars to enforce the criminalization of cannabis. ... Yet its consumption remains widespread," Gov J.B. Pritzker said as Illinois became the 11th state to legalize recreational use of marijuana this past June.
Controlled access will revitalize our rural farming communities. In those states where cultivation is legal, assistant cannabis growers earn an average of $20.55 per hour and master growers typically earn $104,000 a year. North Carolina’s 46,000 farms need crops that generate more profits, create more jobs, and use less water. Our historical relationship with tobacco means farmers are in the perfect position to create new jobs if only we let them. Let’s require that 90% of all cannabis sold in North Carolina be grown in North Carolina.
Cannabis has medicinal value, particularly for pain management, cancer patients, and veterans. “The most common use for medical marijuana in the United States is for pain control,” says Peter Grinspoon, a practicing physician, and Professor at Harvard Medical School. “While marijuana isn’t strong enough for severe pain (for example, post-surgical pain or a broken bone), it is quite effective for the chronic pain that plagues millions of Americans, especially as they age.” States that have legalized the medical use of marijuana have seen opioid use fall by as much as 43 percent.
Two-thirds of all states now allow some form of legal access to cannabis. It is time North Carolina politicians get on board with the pulse of North Carolina’s citizens. Controlled access just makes sense.
Make a Contribution! [[link removed]]
Best,
Bill Toole
Candidate for Lt. Governor
Toole for NC
www.VoteBillToole.com | 704-582-7850 office | 701-354-7968 fax | [email protected]
[link removed] [[link removed]] [link removed] [[link removed]] [link removed] [[link removed]]
Paid For By Toole for NC
Toole for NC
PO Box 11801
Charlotte, NC 28209
United States
If you believe you received this message in error or wish to no longer receive email from us, please unsubscribe: [link removed] .