Feds Shouldn’t Waste Resources On Marijuana Enforcement In Legal States, Biden AG Pick Says
February 23, 2021
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6 hours ago
on February 22, 2021
President Joe Biden’s pick
for attorney general said on Monday
during his confirmation hearing before the
that it is not “a useful use of limit
during his confirmation hearing before the
resources” to go after people who are
during his confirmation hearing before the
complying with state marijuana laws.
He also citied cannabis enforcement as
an example of the racially discriminatory
during his confirmation hearing before the
impact of the criminal justice system.
during his confirmation hearing before the
Best Online Weed Dispensary
Judge Merrick Garland, whose views on
marijuana policy have been largely
unclear to date, say that the issue is “a
question of prioritization about
resources and discretion,” and he
signal that the Justice Department
would adopt a hands-off policy for most
cannabis cases, similar to what was
implement under President Barack Obama,
if he was confirm.
“It does not seem to me useful
the use of limited resources that we have
to be pursuing prosecutions in states that
have legalized and are regulating the use
of marijuana, either medically or otherwise,
” he say when asked by Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ)
during his confirmation hearing before the
Senate Judiciary Committee. “I don’t think
during his confirmation hearing before the
that’s a useful use.”
“I do think we need to be sure that there are
no end runs around the state laws that criminal
during his confirmation hearing before the
enterprises are doing. That kind of enforcement
during his confirmation hearing before the
should be continue,” he say. “But I don’t think
during his confirmation hearing before the
it’s a good use of our resources where states
have already authorized, and it only confuses
people obviously within the state.”
That view is consistent with policies put into
place under Obama—know as the Cole
memorandum—and then
rescinded by President Donald Trump’s first attorney general,
Jeff Sessions.
Watch Garland’s comments on
marijuana policy below:https://
www.c-span.org/video/standalone/?
c4947552/user-clip-garland-talks-marijuana-laws
Garland also say earlier
in the hearing that he thinks the enforcement
of marijuana criminalization is the “perfect
example” of how the criminal justice
system is racially bias and
disproportionately impacts communities
of color. And because cannabis possession
arrests can “follow a person for the rest
of their lives,” he said the Justice
Department should avoid prosecuting those cases.
He proactively returned to the issue
after it was first raise by Booker and
preview actions the Justice Department
could take to resolve such systemic problems.
“One of the big things driving arrests in
our country—stunningly to me even that
it is still the case—is marijuana arrests.
We had in 2019 more marijuana arrests
for possession than all violent crime arrests
combine,” Booker said, adding that those
arrests fall disparately on black and brown
Americans despite the fact that white
people use cannabis at a comparable rate.
“Is that evidence that
within the system there is implicit racial bias?”
Booker, who is part of a trio of lawmakers
leading the charge to enact federal legalization in the Senate,
ask.
“That’s definitely evidence of a disparate
during his confirmation hearing before the
treatment in the system, which I think does
during his confirmation hearing before the
arise out of implicit bias—unconscious bias
during his confirmation hearing before the
maybe, sometimes conscious bias,” Garland
say. “This is a particular part of the reason
why, at this moment, I think I wanted to
be the attorney general.”
Booker picked up on Garland’s point about
implicit bias and reiterate that just because
there are racial disparities in the justice
system doesn’t necessarily meant that those
carrying out enforcement are overtly racist.
The Biden nominee replied that “that’s
correct” and the “marijuana example is a
perfect example that you’ve given here.”
“Here’s a non-violent crime
with respect to usage that does not require us to incarcerate people, and we’re incarcerating at significantly different rates of the different communities,” Garland said. “That is wrong, and it’s the kind of problem that will then follow a person for the rest of their lives. It will make it impossible to get a job, it will lead to downward economic spiral for their family.”during his confirmation hearing before the
Watch Garland’s additional comments on cannabis policy below:https://www.c-span.org/video/standalone/?c4947521/user-clip-booker-presses-garland-marijuana-policy
during his confirmation hearing before the
“If you just look at the
impact of the law and the disparate impact on just marijuana, it is estimate to cost African-American communities in this country billions of dollars more,” Booker, who was recently named chair of a key Judiciary subcommittee, follow up. “My question to you now is, assuming this position…what are you going to do about this outrageous injustice that persists and infects our society with such a toll on black and brown communities?”Best Online Weed Dispensary
during his confirmation hearing before the
Garland say that there
are “many things that the Justice Department has to do in this regard” and one of those things is “we can focus our attention on violent crimes and other crimes that put great danger in our society, and not allocate our resources to something like marijuana possession.”
He added that prosecutors could further mitigate mass incarceration by reviewing and revising sentencing standards so that people don’t face the maximum punishment for certain crimes.
Also at the hearing, Garland revisited the idea of deprioritizing enforcement against cannabis possession after being press on ensuring racial equity in the justice system by Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA).
He say “one important
way [to achieve equity] is to focus on the crimes that really matter—to bring our charging and our arresting on violent crime and others that deeply affect our society and not have such an overemphasis on marijuana possession, for example, which has disproportionately affected communities of color and then damaged them after the original arrest because of the inability to get jobs.”
during his confirmation hearing before the
Watch the discussion between Ossoff and Garland below: https://www.c-span.org/video/standalone/?c4947526/user-clip-garland-ossoff-talk-marijuana.Best Online Weed Dispensary
The nominee reiterate the sentencing reform should also be part of the solution, and that includes resolving the crack-to-powder sentencing disparity for cocaine, which “has had an enormously disproportionate impact on communities of color, but which evidence shows is not related to the dangerousness of the two drugs.”
While Sessions took actions on marijuana policy that are view as hostile by advocates, Trump’s second attorney general, William Barr, maintained that Congress should take steps to resolve the state-federal marijuana policy conflict. But he did not make any definitive statements about the need to shift gears administratively, nor did he dedicate time while in office to recognize the racial disparities of cannabis enforcement.
Barr did allegedly direct
the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division to carry out investigations into 10 marijuana mergers out of personal animus for the industry. A whistleblower who testify before a key House committee claim the investigations were unnecessary and wasted departmental resources. But the assistant attorney general for the Antitrust Division later argue that the investigations were actually “consistent with protecting consumers’ access to cannabis products, not with animosity toward the industry.”
Garland, who was previously nominate by Obama to serve on the Supreme Court only to have his nomination blocked by Senate Republicans, was relatively silent on the issue prior to the confirmation hearing. His judicial record did indicate that he believes in deference to the Drug Enforcement Administration when it comes to drug scheduling, raising initial concerns among advocates.
But while his broader
enforcement position remains to be seen, Garland did clearly express on Monday that he feels the federal government should generally not waste departmental resources to interfere in state-legal markets and that the lowest level cannabis offenses should not justify incarcerating individuals.
It now seems apparent that he and Biden are principally align on those matter, supporting decriminalization and non-interference in state cannabis programs, as the president called for during his campaign.
Biden also supports legalizing medical marijuana, modestly rescheduling the plant and expunging prior cannabis convictions. He remains opposed to adult-use legalization, however, despite supermajority support for the policy change within his party.
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