*** Posted to the AA Group ***

[1StrongBlackMan]

I was reading an article about Racial Disparities in Marijuana Arrests, and can across this paragraph:

 Racially biased marijuana enforcement stretches far beyond New York City—and its pernicious effects extend far beyond the degrading experience of being arrested and jailed. Most serious are the lifelong criminal records produced by a single arrest. Twenty years ago, misdemeanor arrest records were papers stored in dusty file cabinets. Now they are computerized and instantly available for $20 or less from commercial database firms—and easily found by a Google search for the phrase “criminal records.” (Try it yourself.) Employers, landlords, schools, banks and credit card companies rule out applicants on the basis of these now universally available records, which have been aptly described as a “scarlet letter” and a “new Jim Crow.” The substantial damage caused by criminal records from the millions of marijuana arrests has also been willfully disregarded by top officials almost everywhere, including in Congress and the White House.

https://www.thenation.com/article/scandal-racist-marijuana-arrests-and-what-do-about-it/

And while the article (derived from an ACLU study on the topic, arrives at different conclusions, I wonder if, at its root, this is by competition reducing design.

[The Polack MSgt]

1. Wish I could kick it a dozen times.

The substantial damage caused by criminal records from the millions of marijuana arrests has also been willfully disregarded by top officials

This is the crux - The damage to a person's life is far more serious than the fines or short stay in county. It lasts and lasts.

Marijauna law reform must include expunging the records for all simple possession cases

[1StrongBlackMan]

2. I would rather see criminal justice reform that includes ...

treating ex-offenders (that have served their sentences) as a "protected class" status, requiring a compelling interest/"strict scrutiny" analysis in cases of the denial of employment, housing, public accommodations, etc.

I wrote an article on this while in Law School. When I approached my advisor with my topic, he advised that I should pick a different topic if I ever intended to run for any public office, serve as a judge/magistrate/Justice of the Peace, or intended to do anything but defense work.

[The Polack MSgt]

3. I'm not educated enough to argue for or against

What you suggest.

As a cynical middle aged man however, I doubt we'd get to a point where cannabis users would ever be actively protected. Sealing the criminal records seems at least achievable.

Peace

[1StrongBlackMan]

4. Agreed.

[wildeyed]

5. We are trying to get "The Box" off of employment applications locally.

Most have a box you have to check stating that you have a criminal record. I am vaguely aware that some of my local political friends and politicians are trying to get that removed and give ex-felons some protections when it comes to housing and employment.

I know that you cannot qualify for Section 8 if you have a record. Stuff like that seems unfair. A person serves their term, they have paid their debt to society, right? So why do they have to pay for the rest of their lives?

Something from the article that I didn't know: Police like arresting low-level pot offenders because they are not actual criminals or people with serious mental health and addiction problems. So they get overtime based on how many NON-CRIMINALS they can arrest And then we pony up 30k per year per inmate to keep them locked up. That is flat out insane.

A guy I know, white, middle-aged, construction company owner who belongs to a country club (this is the south so 87% chance he is Republican) got called to jury duty. He was asked if he would convict in a Marijuana case. He laughed and said No, it was a complete waste of everyone's time and who cares anyway. So things have got to change soon if a guy like that sees what waste the system produces.

[ailsagirl]

6. kick