By L.A. Williams
Christian Action League
April 7, 2023
Anyone who thinks that pot pushers will be content if state lawmakers approve marijuana for medical use may want to think again, as a bill filed by seven lawmakers this week would go further to legalize the drug for recreational use.
“People should take note that the General Assembly hasn’t even passed medical marijuana yet, and some lawmakers are chomping at the bit to pass recreational, which shows you that if medical is approved recreational will quickly follow,” said the Rev. Mark Creech, executive director of the Christian Action League.
Senate Bill 346, the so-called Marijuana Justice and Reinvestment Act, would allow North Carolinians over age 21 to possess two ounces of cannabis or 15 grams of concentrated cannabis or cannabis products containing up to 2,000 milligrams of tetrahydrocannabinol or six cannabis plants and, within limits, the products those plants produce. Plus, anyone convicted of a possession charge prior to the law’s passage could have their record expunged.
The bill would place a 20-percent state tax on marijuana sales, with the option for municipalities to enact an additional 3-percent tax.
Authors of the bill say that “Cannabis prohibition, like alcohol prohibition before it, has been a wasteful and destructive failure.” They say that the prohibition of cannabis has had “an unfair, disparate impact on persons and communities of color” and cite a 2020 report by the American Civil Liberties Union that showed that black people were more likely than whites to be arrested for cannabis possession even though use rates are nearly identical.
“The prohibition of cannabis diverts law enforcement resources from violent and property crimes and subjects civilians to unnecessary police interactions,” they further argue.
But Rev. Creech warns that if legal alcohol is any indication, under marijuana legalization we are likely to have even more arrests and more law enforcement involvement with the drug than we do now.
“Legalization would no doubt increase marijuana’s usage, public intoxication, hazardous drugged driving accidents, and higher costs to the criminal justice system. What is more, a three-year study in Denver found legal marijuana shops are linked to higher levels of property crime in nearby areas. We find the very same thing in studies about alcohol outlets,” Creech said. He also pointed out that marijuana legalization in other states hasn’t curbed the black market for the drug.
“It’s still thriving, and there is even increased use of drugs among youth. People will always go for the cheaper product even if it’s illegal, especially an untaxed product. So, the whole concept of ‘tax and regulate’ is a failure,” he added.
While Creech admitted there is some truth to the claim that marijuana arrests disproportionately impact racial minorities, he said it’s highly unlikely that legalization of marijuana would do anything to counter the racial and socioeconomic factors involved.
“As one leading voice against marijuana legalization said, ‘It’s a lot more likely an African American or a Latino youth smoking outdoors at a public housing complex is going to be arrested for smoking marijuana than a white boy smoking indoors in his mother’s basement,’” Creech said. He cited a 2018 study that showed that where legalization passed these racial and ethnic disparities continued.
“After legalization, Washington, D.C. experienced public consumption and distribution arrests that nearly tripled, and a disproportionate number of those marijuana-related arrests were African Americans,” he said.
Senate Bill 346 would not legalize marijuana use in public places or while driving. In addition to recreational marijuana, it would establish a medicinal marijuana industry. The bill has been referred to the Committee on Rules and Operations of the Senate.
Bill sponsors, all Democrats, are Graig Meyer (Caswell), Jay Chaudhuri (Wake), Natalie Murdock (Chatham) Lisa Grafstein (Wake), Natasha Marcus (Mecklenburg), Julie Mayfield (Buncombe) and Kandie Smith (Edgecombe).
