Despite the legalization of recreational cannabis in California in 2016, many people still have convictions on their records because of unethical and racist legal practices.
Fortunately, District Attorney of LA County, George Gascon, announced on Sept. 27 2021, that he will be dismissing nearly 60,000 of these convictions in an effort to reverse the nation’s harsh and out-dated war on drugs.
By dismissing these unjust convictions, many people will now have a shot at a brighter future by being able to find better jobs, homes and other services that were previously denied to them because of their records.
One of the main reasons why the dismissal of these convictions is so significant is because statistics have shown that they disproportionately affect people of color.
An ACLU study from 2010 shows that despite having almost equal usage rates, Black people were roughly 4 times more likely to be arrested for possession of marijuana than white people nationwide. In some states such as Iowa, Minnesota and Illinois, as well as Washington, D.C, they were 7.5-8.5 times more likely to be arrested.
This means that people of color are way more likely to have disadvantages when finding good jobs and homes due to cannabis convictions that remain on their record.
This is especially bad for communities that already face prejudices when finding good jobs and homes because of the racist practices that are still present in America.
For example, gentrification in urban cities forces people of color out of their homes for the sake of profit. Practices like redlining can be used to deny lower income communities various services, such as loans and insurance.
Cannabis convictions also result in wasting billions of dollars that could be better spent. The ACLU claims that states spend an average of $3.6 billion per year by enforcing laws on cannabis alone. This money could be spent on things like public transport, infrastructure, education, the COVID-19 pandemic and much more.
Furthermore, many people use marijuana not only recreationally, but for medicinal purposes. According to Mayo Clinic, marijuana can be used to help with the symptoms of many illnesses such as Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, epilepsy, HIV/AIDS, chronic pain, and more.
Even with the proven benefits of marijuana, the medical use of it is only legal in 36 states and can be highly punishable if used in a state where it is not. Those who live in such states and use marijuana to help treat their illnesses are prosecuted to the same extent as those who use it recreationally.
Cannabis is also considered to be a ‘schedule 1 drug’ by the United States Drug Enforcement Agency. This means that cannabis is claimed to be just as potent as heroin and LSD, which are proven to cause severe neurological damage.
These overly strict cannabis laws we see in the nation today originate from Richard Nixon’s presidency and his declaration of the “War on Drugs”.
The war on drugs created many laws that resulted in the hysteria and prejudice against cannabis users that we still see today, such as the Controlled Substance Act, which falsely stated that cannabis is highly addictive and has no medicinal value.
Gascon’s plan to expunge 60,000 cannabis convictions in LA County is certainly a good place to start; however, there is much work to be done.
It’s time for the government to stop criminalizing cannabis users and start helping them achieve a clean record by providing them with the proper legal petitions in order to do so. The faster we expunge people’s past cannabis convictions, the faster they can get their lives back on track.