The Future of Marijuana Use: Will North Carolinians Be Able to Legally Light It Up Anytime Soon?
This picture from Spectrum News 1 shows protesters waving flags outside the White House as they protested for the legalization of marijuana in 2016.
On October 6, 2021, President Joe Biden announced he “granted a pardon to all people convicted of simple marijuana possession under federal law,” as well as “urg[ed] governors to take similar actions for state offenses of civil marijuana.” With this announcement from the White House and an increasing number of states legalizing marijuana, North Carolinians are left wondering about the future of marijuana legalization in their state. While both Governor Roy Cooper and Attorney General Josh Stein have voiced their support for legalization of marijuana, the ultimate decision lies in the hands of North Carolina’s Republican-controlled state legislature.
Current North Carolina state law makes the “[. . .] possession of more than 0.5 ounces punishable by up to 45 days in jail and up to $1,000 in fines,” as well as classifies the possession of over 1.5 ounces as a felony. Governor Cooper – alongside a 24-member panel of law enforcement officers, attorneys, civil rights advocates and state officials – recommended that the legislature “replace the misdemeanor charge for possessing up to 1.5 ounces of marijuana with a civil offense on par with a traffic infraction,” in 2020. While the General Assembly did not take this recommendation seriously in 2020, there were some signs of movement towards legalization of medical marijuana in June of 2022. The North Carolina Senate passed a bi-partisan bill supporting the legalization of marijuana for individuals suffering from a number of diseases “in which their doctor declares the health benefits of smoking or consuming cannabis outweigh the risks.” However, some N.C. House Representatives are still skeptical about the benefits of legalizing marijuana, with Speaker of the House Time Moore saying the issue would have to wait to be considered by his chamber until the 2023 legislative session.
With the issue of marijuana legalization being pushed to the forefront with less than a month until Election Day, it is important for voters to know their party’s stance on legalization. When evaluating policy stances of the GOP concerning marijuana, Biden’s pardon announcement exposed some inconsistencies within the Republican party. Responses to the announcement spanned from extreme disgust to resentful praise to complete silence. Of those GOP members outraged is Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas, who tweeted that “In the midst of a crime wave and on the brink of a recession, Joe Biden is giving blanket pardons to drug offenders — many of whom pleaded down from more serious charges.” In contrast, there are also GOP members praising Biden, like Representative Nancy Mace of South Carolina who said in an interview that she “doesn’t always agree with the Biden administration, but this is a step in the right direction.” However, big-name Republicans like Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy have not jumped to commenting on the President’s actions. This spectrum of GOP opinions leaves voters having to do their own research into their Republican candidate’s stances on marijuana.
Crossing the aisle to the Democratic Party, reactions to President Biden’s announcement are more uniform and reflect the more cohesive view on marijuana legalization throughout the party. Bernie Sanders expressed support for Biden’s actions, calling them “an important step forward” in marijuana legislation reform. Other established Democratic Party figures, including New Jersey Senator Cory Booker and Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, spoke out supporting the President’s pardoning as a good first step towards reforming marijuana legislation. These consistent responses to the White House announcement reflect a more consistent stance on marijuana legislation within the Democratic Party. According to the Democratic Party platform from 2020, the party supports the decriminalization of marijuana, stating “all past criminal convictions for cannabis use should be automatically expunged.” President Biden has certainly taken steps towards this with his recent announcement by granting pardons for those convicted of federal marijuana violations.
No matter one’s opinion concerning marijuana policy, it would be inappropriate not to discuss the racial implications surrounding marijuana in the United States. The criminalization of the drug is rooted in racism, with one of the first campaigns against marijuana in the 20th century perpetuating racial stereotypes about users as well as alleging the drug could cause people to commit crimes. Harry J. Anslinger, the main political figure at the center of the 20th century campaign, attempted to associate the drug with Hispanic immigrants by using the Spanish term “marijuana” rather than “cannabis” to refer to the drug. Anslinger also attempted to tie cannabis use to jazz music, saying that the “evil music genre” typically dominated by Black Americans was created by people who often smoked marijuana. Since the prohibition of marijuana, its racist origins have continued to rear its ugly head in the implementation of laws surrounding the drug. In fact, according to the Legal Defense Fund, a non-profit advocating for racial justice, Black Americans are almost four times as likely to be arrested for marijuana use, despite using marijuana at similar rates as white Americans. This means that many Black Americans are left sitting in prison cells due to marijuana related charges while the white-dominated, legal pot industry is projected to make almost $45 billion by 2024.
With the recent announcement from President Biden, marijuana legalization has taken center stage in many Americans’ minds. While North Carolinians have many high ranking state officials with a history of supporting marijuana legalization, the Republican controlled legislature boasts control over the future of marijuana in the Tarheel state. With recommendations of taking up the issue having already been ignored in the past, the likelihood of the state legislature taking up the issue again in 2023 seems unlikely. The GOP controlled legislature, which will probably gain an even larger Republican majority after Election Day, will presumably have other issues on the top of their agendas coming into the 2023 legislative session. However, having explored the obvious racial disparities surrounding marijuana legislation in the United States, North Carolina should legalize marijuana and expunge records of those in prison or jail due to related charges. In the words of Senator Cory Booker, taking these legislative actions would be “one big step closer to justice” for Black North Carolinians whose lives have been undeniably affected by racism surrounding marijuana policy.