Tuesday, September 22 2020
In todays report:
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Marijuana Accounts For One In Ten South Dakota Arrests, New Report Shows Ahead Of Legalization Vote
Marijuana arrests in South Dakota are common, costly and carried out on a racially disproportionate basis, a new report released by advocates for a legalization measure on the state’s November ballot shows
In fact, nearly one in 10 of all arrests in the state in 2018 were for cannabis offenses, with 95 percent of those cases concerning simple possession. There were 31,883 marijuana arrests in South Dakota from 2009 to 2018
On average, black residents and Native Americans have been more than five times as likely to be arrested for cannabis compared to white people over the 10-year period the report examines.
In South Dakota, depending on the nature of the offense, these can include: loss of eligibility for adoption or foster parenting; loss of eligibility for public housing; loss of eligibility for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF); difficulties securing employment due to employer discrimination; barriers to professional licensure; loss of educational aid; revocation of driver’s license; and loss of the right to possess a firearm.”
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Under the adult use initiative, people 21 and older could possess and distribute up to one ounce, and they would also be allowed to cultivate up to three cannabis plants
“When we see that one in 10 arrests in South Dakota are for marijuana, we know that it is taking a huge economic toll on our state—not only in terms of taking productive citizens out of the workforce, but also in terms of the day-to-day law enforcement costs associated with enforcing this prohibition,” he s
SKansas Lawmakers Continue The Push To Legalize Medical Marijuana
Kansas Governor Says Medical Marijuana Still On The Table In 2020 Despite Coronavirus
Criminal penalties in Kansas have been trimmed during the past several by adjustment of state law and by adoption of city ordinances. Under certain circumstances, Kansans who obtain marijuana-based medicines in other states for treatment of severely disabled children have an “affirmative defense,” not quite a get-of-jail statute, if encountered by police.
Both had family members regurgitate propaganda reminiscent of “Reefer Madness” while expressing surprise they would take a pro-pot position while federal government categorically listing marijuana as equally dangerous to public health as heroin
“It’s time we acknowledge that some of our citizens are actually using medical marijuana, even though they may have to travel to another state to get it. We’re actually using it and we’re losing out on revenues.”
Haley said the benefit wouldn’t fall simply to the consumers who take the products for their health. The state’s agricultural foundation can be relied upon to deliver a superior marijuana crop to companies engaged in manufacturing medicinal products, he said.
Finney said law enforcement agencies would likely continue to oppose reform in Kansas. She said it had to do, in part, with the ability of law enforcement agencies to seize property—cash, vehicles and other property—from people accused of drug possession. The revenue has been rolled into law enforcement budgets for many years and would be missed, she said.
Legalization of marijuana would take a bite out of that steady revenue source, but it wouldn’t eliminate it because the illegal black market would still be subject to enforcement action.
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“It’s ridiculous how we clog, or how law enforcement has clogged, the system,” Haley said. “Black, brown or broke, those are the three that are most prosecuted, are disproportionately so, for these crimes
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/kansas-lawmakers-continue-the-push-to-legalize-medical-marijuana/
New York Launches Process For Destroying Marijuana Conviction Records
The one-page form, available online or at courthouses, is free to file and requires only basic information about the case, including the individual’s name, the county and court where the conviction took place, the case number and current contact information. Completed forms can be filed in person at the court with official identification or sent by mail if first notarized by a notary public.
convictions are already sealed from view in nearly all circumstances. The only parties able to see expunged records are pistol licensing bureaus when people are applying for gun permits and law enforcement agencies when people are applying for jobs as officers.
“If you decide to apply for destruction, the arrest, prosecution and criminal history records related to your expunged marihuana conviction are destroyed, and there will be no record of your arrest or conviction for these charges. In other words, it will be like it never happened,” an explanatory page about the new process says.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) said when he signed the decriminalization and expungement bill into law. “Communities of color have been disproportionately impacted by laws governing marijuana for far too long, and today we are ending this injustice.”
More than 150,000 people’s marijuana possession convictions in New York state were automatically expunged last summer, effectively sealing them from public view. Now, individuals can go a step further by requesting that conviction-related records—including arrest reports, prosecution records and criminal history—be completely destroyed.