Chances Are you’re a Felon

YOUR WEED IS NOT LEGAL – YET

That’s right, you heard me, chances are – you are a F E L O N

Ever taken a hit from a joint? Possessed a small amount of marijuana? Passed a joint to a friend? Enjoyed an edible in the comfort of your own home. Yep, that’s right, you’re a felon- you just haven’t been prosecuted yet.

We live in a system where federal laws criminalizing the use of marijuana conflict with state laws and your weed is not yet legal under federal law. You’re just not being prosecuted because there’s not a jury in the world who would convict you. Technically, DEA agents should be kicking down the door of every dispensary, grow house, and marijuana user. But they aren’t, instead they have chosen to violate their oath to execute the laws of the United States fully and faithfully. And many of us may be glad about that because we can live our lives in peace but what does that say for our rule of law and respect for our laws? If a law isn’t being executed – it should be removed.

So why hasn’t the federal government acted? Why hasn’t congress de-criminalized marijuana?

I’ll tell you, but first a history lesson.

Under federal law, marijuana is still illegal and punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison. Marijuana is one of the most used drugs in the United States – behind alcohol. Many states have decriminalized its use – but the federal government has not. We are in a quandary where states have a conflict with the federal laws and the answer is executive overreach.

FEDERAL MARIJUANA LAWS

The marijuana tax act was passed in 1937 and was followed by a series of federal laws that have been enacted to regulate marijuana. This includes the Boggs Act (1952), the Narcotics Control Act (1956), and finally the Controlled Substance Act (1970). Signed by Richard Nixon, the Controlled Substance Act outlawed the sale use and possession of marijuana and other schedule I drugs that – according to the act – have no medical use. The Drug enforcement administration (DEA) has the power to place drugs on this schedule through and administrative process called “notice and comment” which takes years to complete. The process to remove drugs from the schedule of illegal drugs also takes years to complete. Schedule I drugs are drugs that are entirely illegal and according to the DEA have no medical use and are not safe for medical use without medical supervision.

Starting in the late 1960s there have been efforts to de-schedule marijuana and several movements popped up. The first reforms took hold in California and eventually marijuana became legal for medical use in 1996. Reforms took hold in many states and to date 37 states and the District of Columbia have established medical marijuana laws and 17 states have legalized marijuana recreationally.

Polls show that 68 percent of citizens support recreational marijuana and President Biden made it part of his campaign platform but has since removed his support. Legalization is popularly supported. But the issue lies in what happens to the scores of federal drug defendants currently in jail for marijuana use, possession and trafficking and the thousands of federal defendants with convictions on their record for marijuana possession and trafficking. Simply put, the government is holding back on legalization of marijuana because it fears that federal inmates with cannabis convictions will revolt. There is no federal method for expungement and once legalized convicted felons will seek release because of the new change in the law.

Imagine sitting in a cell for years, decades, or even life, convicted of an activity that is no longer a crime, while thousands of other people build wealth doing the exact same thing. There are an estimated 40,000 federal inmates in prison currently for marijuana related convictions. The federal government continues to hold them in a cage while state after state makes their conduct lawful.

CANNABIS ADMINISTRATION AND OPPORTUNITY ACT

Senator Cory Booker, Ron Wyden, and Chuck Schumer are attempting to come to the rescue with the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act. The act includes restorative measures to lift up people and communities who were unfairly targeted in the War on Drugs. The bill automatically expunges federal non-violent marijuana crimes and allows an individual currently serving time in federal prison for non-violent marijuana crimes to petition a court for resentencing.

The bill is still pending and has not yet received a vote but you can support the bill by writing your State Senator.