Floridians get to free the weed at the ballot box Nov. 5. What’s at stake? Scores of weed arrests, and at least $200 million per year in tax revenue for a massive, newly-legal economy.  Also, tens of millions of dollars more in criminal justice savings from fewer arrests and prison sentences.  That $200 million figure […]

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Department of Justice indictments against an accused drug trafficking organization operating out of Southern California were unsealed Tuesday, revealing a vast criminal network which allegedly moved millions of dollars worth of drugs from California to Canada.

According to a Department of Justice press release, the criminal network they targeted was responsible for trafficking hundreds of kilograms of cocaine, fentanyl and methamphetamine from Mexico into Los Angeles where they loaded it onto semi-trucks bound for Canada or other parts of the United States. 

Various law enforcement organizations executed arrests and search warrants in Los Angeles; Sacramento, California; Miami; Odessa, Texas; Montreal; Toronto; and Calgary, Canada Tuesday morning with 30 search warrants served in Los Angeles alone. “Operation Dead Hand” as it was so dubbed by the feds was responsible for ten arrests in multiple cities across the United States and Canada.

“Today’s charges and arrests across North America reflect the Justice Department’s close coordination with our Mexican and Canadian partners to disrupt international narcotics trafficking,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco. “These cases provide yet another example of how our agents and prosecutors work side-by-side to uncover and dismantle organized criminal networks peddling and profiting from deadly drugs.”

The many defendants charged in the two unsealed indictments are as follows:

• Jesus Ruiz Sandoval Jr., 45, of Guadalajara, Mexico;
• John Joe Soto, 42, of Guadalajara;
• Eduardo Carvajal, 50, of Guadalajara;
• Roberto Scoppa, 55, of Montreal;
• Ayush Sharma, 25, of Brampton, Canada;
• Subham Kumar, 29, of Calgary, Canada;
• Carlos Barragan, 51, of Long Beach, California;
• Corell Carbajal Garcia, 38, of Hemet, California;
• Humberto Luis Bermejo, 26, of Odessa, Texas; and
• Esteban Sinhue Mercado, 24, of San Jacinto, California.
• Guramrit Sidhu, 60, of Brampton, Canada;
• Ivan Gravel Gonzalez, 32, a resident of both the Dominican Republic and Montreal;
• Daniel Antonio Trejo Huerta, 43, of Riverside, California;
• Ignacio Lopez, 53, a resident of Santa Ana, California;
• Daniel Joseph Alan Herrera, 27, of Miami;
• Orlando Velasco Jr., 29, of Stanton, California;
• Angel Larry Sandoval, 32, of Bell Gardens, California;
• Jorge Pina Nicols, 22, of Long Beach, California; and
• Bryan Ureta Valenzuela, 24, of Ontario, California.

A notable name from that list is Robert Scoppa, whom the Department of Justice described as an alleged Canadian drug trafficker believed to be moving massive amounts of drugs on a regular basis with close ties to an Italian organized crime family. The other defendants were generally alleged to either be associated with Mexican crime groups involved in moving product over the southern border or handlers and dispatchers involved with a complex network of semi-truck drivers who made frequent border crossings into Canada via the Detroit Windsor Tunnel, the Buffalo Peace Bridge and the Blue Water Bridge. 

“Drug trafficking is a global problem being driven by sophisticated, organized crime groups who put profits over people’s lives,” said U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada for the Central District of California. “Motivated by greed, these criminals destroy lives, devastate families, and wreak havoc in our community. But this case shows that we will collaborate with our international partners to bring these criminal networks to justice. Those who traffic in highly addictive and dangerous drugs will be held accountable.”

Of the list of those indicted, 10 were arrested Tuesday, two were already in police custody and seven are considered to be fugitives. Those seven are as follows: 

• Angel Larry Sandoval
• Corell Garcia
• Eduardo Carvajal
• Esteban Sinhue Mercado
• John Soto
• Bryan Valenzuela
• Jesus Ruiz, Jr.

All those indicted face maximum penalties ranging from 40 years to life in prison. This organization has been accused of trafficking up to 845 kilograms of methamphetamine, 951 kilograms of cocaine, 20 kilograms of fentanyl, and 4 kilograms of heroin. The wholesale value of these drugs was estimated by the Department of Justice to be between $16-28 million and around $900,000 in cash was seized during this operation. 

“Until today, the organized members of this conspiracy operated with impunity throughout the many thousands of miles that comprise the North American continent, poisoning communities along the way,” said Assistant Director in Charge Donald Alway of the FBI Los Angeles Field Office. “The strength of this partnership cannot be overstated. The agents and detectives on this case did an outstanding job of pooling resources and worked seamlessly across borders toward a mutual goal of putting this massive drug pipeline out of business.”

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Over the last half-decade, millions of Americans have seen their marijuana-related convictions expunged by state courts, according to a new report from the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML).

The findings highlight a byproduct of the legalization of recreational cannabis for adults, as states that have ended prohibition have also included a path toward pardons and expungements for those who have previously been busted for marijuana. Additionally, President Joe Biden issued pardons in 2022 to individuals with low-level federal marijuana convictions.

NORML’s report, based on publicly available information, revealed that “state and local courts have taken action on an estimated 2.3 million marijuana-related cases” since 2018. According to the report, the states “that have been most active in providing relief to those with past convictions include California, Illinois, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, and Virginia –– all states that have legalized recreational cannabis for adults. 

NORML said that it “estimates that state and local police have made more than 29 million marijuana-related arrests since 1965,” and that among those who were arrested, “some 90 percent were charged with low-level cannabis possession offenses.”

“Hundreds of thousands of Americans unduly carry the burden and stigma of a past conviction for behavior that most Americans, and a growing number of states, no longer consider to be a crime,” NORML’s Deputy Director Paul Armentano said in a statement on the report. “Our sense of justice and our principles of fairness demand that public officials and the courts move swiftly to right the past wrongs of cannabis prohibition and criminalization.”

NORML’s report details a number of examples of state governors and local officials issuing pardons for low-level pot convictions, including in Illinois, where Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued 11,017 pardons to those with low-level marijuana convictions in 2019.

In the report, NORML also breaks down the differences between pardons and expungements.

“While pardons provide a level of forgiveness for past crimes, these are not the same as expungements – which seal past convictions from public view. To facilitate the latter, lawmakers in many states in recent years have enacted laws providing explicit pathways to expunge the records of those with low-level marijuana convictions. In some cases, those eligible for expungement relief are not required to take any action. Instead, state officials automatically review past records and notify those who meet the state’s criteria for expungement. In other cases, state law requires those seeking to have their records expunged to petition the courts in order to have their records reviewed and vacated,” the report said. “Predictably, states that have automated the review and expungement process have seen a massive uptick in the processing of marijuana-related expungements.”

Despite all the sweeping reforms at the state and local level, cannabis remains prohibited under federal law. But Biden’s actions were significant, affecting around 6,500 United States citizens.

“As I often said during my campaign for President, no one should be in jail just for using or possessing marijuana.  Sending people to prison for possessing marijuana has upended too many lives and incarcerated people for conduct that many states no longer prohibit. Criminal records for marijuana possession have also imposed needless barriers to employment, housing, and educational opportunities.  And while white and Black and brown people use marijuana at similar rates, Black and brown people have been arrested, prosecuted, and convicted at disproportionate rates,” Biden said in 2022 after issuing the pardons. 

In addition to the pardons, Biden also urged “all Governors to do the same with regard to state offenses.”  

“Just as no one should be in a Federal prison solely due to the possession of marijuana, no one should be in a local jail or state prison for that reason, either,” the president said, adding that he had asked “the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Attorney General to initiate the administrative process to review expeditiously how marijuana is scheduled under federal law.”

“Federal law currently classifies marijuana in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, the classification meant for the most dangerous substances.  This is the same schedule as for heroin and LSD, and even higher than the classification of fentanyl and methamphetamine – the drugs that are driving our overdose epidemic,” he said.

A year later, President Biden issued a second pardon proclamation that “will pardon additional offenses of simple possession and use of marijuana under federal and D.C. law.” 

“Criminal records for marijuana use and possession have imposed needless barriers to employment, housing, and educational opportunities. Too many lives have been upended because of our failed approach to marijuana.  It’s time that we right these wrongs,” Biden said in 2023. “Just as no one should be in a federal prison solely due to the use or possession of marijuana, no one should be in a local jail or state prison for that reason, either. That’s why I continue to urge Governors to do the same with regard to state offenses and applaud those who have since taken action.”

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Despite the dramatic shift in opinion about cannabis in America, Kentucky law enforcement agents continued to charge people with cannabis-related charges at a steady rate, in tandem with offenses across the board.

According to analysis of the Kentucky Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) data, more than 300,000 people in Kentucky have been charged with a cannabis-related crime over the past two decades. That’s nearly two people every hour, every day between June 2002 and July 2022, the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy wrote. To be fair, just one out of 10 of the 3.1 million people charged with a crime in Kentucky in that time period faced cannabis charges, but the numbers are still too high.

“Every corner of the commonwealth has seen people charged with cannabis crimes with some counties having dozens charged and others tens of thousands,” Kentucky Center for Economic Policy wrote.

“Data also reveals starkly different conviction rates, with some rural areas nearly twice as likely to convict someone for a cannabis charge than Kentucky’s biggest city. Still, as much of the country has moved to more permissive policies, Kentucky continues to subject people to incarceration, burdensome fines, community supervision, and criminal charges for cannabis crimes. These consequences have lasting, harmful effects on people’s economic security, employment, health, housing and ability to fully participate in community life. And these consequences often fall disproportionately on low-income and Black and Brown Kentuckians.”

Possession remains the most common cannabis charge in Kentucky, a Class B misdemeanor that can lead up to 45 days in jail and a fine of up to $250.

Cannabis Charges Impact Lives

Just how widespread is the issue? The report’s county-by-county data also shows that every community in the state is affected. “Every Kentucky county had people charged with cannabis offenses during these two decades—from 68 people in Robertson County to 72,717 in Jefferson County,” the report reads. “Expressed as the number of annualized cannabis-related charges per 1,000 county residents in the two-decade period, 1.5 people per 1,000 had a cannabis charge in Robertson County in contrast to 8.4 people per 1,000 in Carroll County. Lyon County is an outlier, where 16.4 people per 1,000 had a cannabis charge.”

The report was completed and written by authors Kaylee Raymer, Ashley Spalding, Pam Thomas, Dustin Pugel, and Carmen Mitchell. You can read the center’s full report in PDF format here.

“While most of those 300,000 people were charged with possession, their lives are still impacted,” Kaylee Raymer, policy analyst for the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy, told Fox 56. “Whether it’s through fines and fees, it could affect their ability to get public housing or their ability to get a job if that’s on their record. So there are still consequences that come with cannabis-related charges.”

The Kentucky Legislature reduced the penalty for cannabis possession in 2011 and the 2023 General Assembly took an important step in legalizing a limited model of medical cannabis starting in 2025. The only qualifying conditions are chronic pain, chronic nausea/vomiting, epilepsy/seizure disorder, multiple sclerosis, muscle spasms/spasticity, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

That said, Kentucky is still among just 18 “cannabis desert” states that continue to prohibit cannabis in spite of the shift in public opinion.

Over the past two decades—running from July 1, 2002 to June 29, 2022—an estimated 303,264 people in Kentucky were charged with various cannabis offenses, according to AOC data published by the Vera Institute of Justice.  Since 1983, the prison custody population has increased 168%, the Vera Institute of Justice reported in its recent Incarceration Trends Report.

In 2019, 20,087 people were charged with a cannabis offense, with a 53% conviction rate. But due to the pandemic, there were much fewer arrests and case delays as most courts were closed.

Curiously, despite cannabis being viewed as virtually harmless by many, cannabis conviction held steady in tandem with conviction rates for all offenses. Between 2003 and 2021 the conviction rate for people charged with cannabis offenses was 59% and for all offenses was 63%, on average.

New Changes in Kentucky Cannabis Law

There are also new laws in place, particularly regarding hemp-derived cannabinoids.

On March 23, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear signed a bill to regulate hemp-derived delta-8 THC products. Beshear signed an executive order last year to regulate delta-8 THC and similar products, but that only affected the packaging and labeling of products.

House Bill 544 mandates that only adults 21 and over can buy products containing delta-8 THC—a hemp-derived compound frequently marketed as psychoactive—which began on August 1.

Per the bill, the state will regulate “any product containing delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol or any other hemp-derived substance identified by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services as having intoxicating effects on consumers.” 

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Newly released data published in last month’s issue of the Journal of Addiction Medicine concluded that marijuana treatments for young people have declined following legalization.

The data, presented by researchers at Temple University, “were extracted from the Treatment Episode Dataset—Admissions and used to calculate trends in the number and proportion of criminal justice referrals” for cannabis use disorder treatment. They sought to investigate “whether the proportion of referrals to cannabis use disorder (CUD) treatment from the criminal justice system declined among adolescents (aged 12–17 years) and young adults (aged 18–24 years) following state recreational (adult use) cannabis legalization in the United States between 2008 and 2019.” And they said that difference-in-differences analysis [used to measure a cause and effect of a certain policy] “was used to estimate the effect of recreational legalization on the state-level proportion of criminal justice referrals as a share of all admissions.”

The researchers said that, nationwide, “the number and proportion of adolescent and young adult criminal justice referrals to [cannabis use disorder] treatment declined over the study period.”

“The proportion of young adult criminal justice referrals declined significantly more rapidly after recreational legalization as compared with before (β = −0.045; 95% confidence interval, −0.079 to −0.010; P = 0.01),” the researchers wrote. “Among adolescents, the trajectory of decline in the proportion of criminal justice referrals did not change significantly following recreational legalization (β = −0.033; 95% confidence interval, −0.073 to 0.008; P = 0.11).”

The researchers concluded that their results “indicate that the proportion of referrals to CUD [cannabis use disorder] treatment from the criminal justice system fell following recreational legalization in the United States among young adults, likely due to post-legalization declines in cannabis-related arrests,” as quoted by NORML’s write-up of the data.

“The decline in the proportion of young adult criminal justice referrals to [cannabis use disorder] treatment following recreational legalization is likely due to falling cannabis-related arrests. Although cannabis criminalization may result in court-mandated CUD treatment for some young adults without CUD, the decline in CUD treatment admissions during a period of increasing CUD risk factors associated with recreational legalization represents a key health concern. Promoting screening and other CUD treatment referral sources, such as through primary care, may be warranted,” they concluded.

The findings represent a welcome development for legalization advocates, who have long contended that the end of prohibition would free up resources in the criminal justice system.

NORML’s Deputy Director Paul Armentano said that most people “arrested for violating marijuana possession laws do not require mandatory drug treatment, and historically, these referrals were provided primarily to divert people away from the criminal justice system.”

“In addition to ending tens of thousands of needless low-level marijuana arrests, cannabis legalization is also freeing up space in drug treatment centers for those people who truly need it,” Armentano said in a statement on the findings.

Marijuana legalization is still in its infancy in the United States, and researchers are continuing to learn more about the social and political outcomes of the policy reform. 

A long-term study released earlier this year found that the legalization of marijuana is not associated with drug abuse.

The study looked at various sets of twins (more than 4,000 individuals total) to examine the effect of living in states that permit recreational cannabis.

Although it was not linked to substance abuse disorder, the researchers did find that it often resulted in increased pot use.

“In the co-twin control design accounting for earlier cannabis frequency and alcohol use disorder (AUD) symptoms respectively, the twin living in a recreational state used cannabis on average more often, and had fewer AUD symptoms than their co-twin living in an non-recreational state. Cannabis legalization was associated with no other adverse outcome in the co-twin design, including cannabis use disorder. No risk factor significantly interacted with legalization status to predict any outcome,” they wrote.

“Recreational legalization was associated with increased cannabis use and decreased AUD symptoms but was not associated with other maladaptations,” wrote researchers. “These effects were maintained within twin pairs discordant for residence. Moreover, vulnerabilities to cannabis use were not exacerbated by the legal cannabis environment. Future research may investigate causal links between cannabis consumption and outcomes,” the researchers added.

Another study released last year found that marijuana legalization has led to a reduction in filled prescriptions through that state’s Medicaid program.

“These results have important implications,” said Shayam Raman, one of the researchers involved in the study. “The reductions in drug utilization that we find could lead to significant cost savings for state Medicaid programs. The results also indicate an opportunity to reduce the harm that can come with the dangerous side effects associated with some prescription drugs.”

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A New Jersey government official wants to keep track of your entire relationship with cannabis in an effort to tackle stoned driving, the New Jersey Monitor reports. Assemblywoman Shanique Speight (D) wants to create a division tasked with compiling data, such as information on any arrests made for driving under the influence where cannabis is present, through use or possession, in addition to other marijuana-related arrests, dismissals, convictions, cannabis seized, and even adjudications of cannabis charges.

The reality of the dangers of driving with cannabis in one’s system is hotly debated. U.S. lawmakers are scurrying to find a way to solve the issue, whether they’re getting people stoned (and even giving them munchies) to research high driving or working on tech to scan your eyeballs, they really, really want to find a way to identify (and prosecute) anyone driving under the influence of cannabis. Never mind the fact that weed legalization in Canada is not linked to an increase in car crashes. 

Speight was inspired to tackle the problem in her home state after visiting Colorado, the first state to have legal recreational weed, in the summer of 2022 and observing how the state deals with motorists driving under the influence of cannabis. “I don’t know if they have the correct guidance on how to charge without overstepping,” Speight said. Colorado has an office under the state’s criminal justice division that monitors and logs any cannabis offenses, yet New Jersey has no similar centralized database. “When I saw what they were doing over there, I started thinking about how that would be good for our state,” she said. “I like the fact that they have a certain division handling and keeping track of these cases.”

So, New Jersey residents, you can get mad at Colorado for inspiring your state to step up its vigor regarding cannabis-related driving arrests. Speight aims to create the division to help the police know under what circumstances they can arrest someone. This means the state government will be collecting more information about its citizens, which will be presented annually to the governor and Legislature, and include any recommendations for improvements.

The bill, introduced earlier this month (sponsored by Sen. Vin Gopal (D) in the Senate), would additionally create a “public awareness campaign” about cannabis and driving. It’s currently referred to both chambers’ law and public safety committees.

In New Jersey, recreational cannabis is legal for adults 21 and over. You can possess up to six ounces. If you are caught with more than that, the cops can’t arrest you but can issue a summons. Additionally, they can’t search your car without a warrant just because they think they smell weed smoke. If a cop does overreach and investigate cannabis use for anyone under 21, they can be charged with deprivation of civil rights for knowingly violating the cannabis law’s requirements. They then face up to five years in prison and a $15,000 fine. 

As a result, Speight says that she’s “troubled” by incidents where New Jersey police don’t know what to do. Many officers take a more hands-off approach to avoid getting in trouble due to the current law, and the proposed data collection-based division aims to tackle this. While the existing rules sound favorable to anyone who enjoys pot, it’s confusing police, who, without a current, accurate cannabis version of the breathalyzer, have a hard time figuring out if someone is driving stoned or not. 

“All of this gets complicated to me, but I don’t think it should be ignored. It should be addressed,” Speight adds, noting she hopes to work with both cannabis advocates and law enforcement on the bill.

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An annual report published on Jan. 1 by the Racial and Identity Profiling Advisory Board (RIPA) made many observations about California’s law enforcement officers. This is the sixth report since RIPA was formed in 2016, which collects data about general policing and ways to eliminate unlawful practices.

“Over the past four years, the data collected under the Racial and Identity Profiling Act has provided empirical evidence showing disparities in policing throughout California,” the report states. “This year’s data demonstrates the same trends in disparities for all aspects of law enforcement stops, from the reason for stop to actions taken during stop to results of stop.”

The report spans stop data that occurred between January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021, and analyzes information from 58 law enforcement agencies and the negative impacts of citizen interactions with police, with a focus on youth.

In the 2021 timeframe, more than 3.1 million stops were reported. In terms of “perceived” race or ethnicity, police agencies states that 42.2% were Hispanic/Latine(x), 30% white, 15% Black, 5.3% Asian, 4.8% Middle Eastern/South Asian, 1% multiracial, 0.5% Pacific Islander, and 0.3% Native American. Additionally, 72.1% were cisgendered male and 27.5% cisgendered female, making up 99.7% of all stops.

Reasons for a law enforcement “stop” include either a traffic violation (86.6%), or a reasonable suspicion of being engaged in criminal activity (10.5%). Black individuals had the highest percentage of stops in regard to “reasonable suspicion” at 16.2%, but also the lowest proportion of stops for traffic violations (80.5%).

The RIPA Board found that Black and Hispanic/Latine(x) individuals were more likely to have force used against them compared to White individuals. Black teens between the ages of 10-14 and 15-17 experienced the highest rate of being searched by police (20.1%), detained (17.9%), and handcuffed (15.4%), and “removed from a vehicle by order” (7.6%).

Black adolescents were detained curbside or in a patrol car 36.2%-44.5% of the time, searched 39.9%-42.4% of the time, handcuffed 33.5-36.5% of the time. Ultimately, this data shows that teens who are perceived to be Black were searched six times the rate of White adolescents, and those perceived to be Hispanic/Latine(x) were searched four times more.

The interactions that teens have with law enforcement, including repeat interactions, impact those individuals’ mental health. “Research shows that the types of contact and frequency of involuntary contacts with law enforcement may have a harmful impact on the individual stopped, triggering stress responses, depressive symptoms, anxiety, and other related negative mental health impacts,” the report states. “This research suggests that racial and identity profiling goes beyond the criminal legal system and policing; it is also a critical public health issue.”

“Based on the research, the Board believes that public health officials and policymakers should treat racial and identity profiling and adverse policing as significant public health issues. It is imperative to recognize that police interactions can negatively affect the mental and physical health of individuals who are Black, Hispanic/Latine(x), Indigenous, and people of color. Doing so could help significantly reduce the high stress, community fragmentation, and poor health outcomes among community members who experience targeting of their neighborhoods and aggressive policing practices. Given this, adequate resources should be invested to understand and address the health implications of racial and identity profiling.”

This report covers a variety of information relative to the discussion of how law enforcement abuses the system through pretextual stops or searches, an act where an officer stops an individual for a minor violation in order to closer “investigate a hunch regarding a different crime that by itself would not amount to reasonable suspicion or probable cause.”

While the report does not specifically delve into details in regards to cannabis, The Washington Post published a story in October 2022 about the racial disparities in law enforcement in Virginia. Although the state legalized adult-use cannabis in July 2021, the article put a spotlight on how Virginia police are still more likely to arrest Black people more than White people for cannabis-related offenses.

An analysis of cannabis arrests by the New York Police Department (NYPD) in 2020 showed that 94% of all cannabis-related arrests impacted people of color. Overall, cannabis arrests by the NYPD in 2022 have been reduced, but arrests were still higher for those perceived as Black or Hispanic.

In April 2020, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) published an extensive report showing the disparity of arrests for Black individuals, showing that arrests are still widespread and racial disparities are still common throughout the country, both in states with legal or decriminalized cannabis.

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Black Minnesotans are more than four times more likely to get arrested for marijuana according to the latest data from the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

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Federal law enforcement continues to make fewer and fewer arrests for weed, according to data released by the Department of Justice, a trend that dovetails with the new cannabis laws that have bloomed in the last decade.

From 2010 until 2020, there was an 11% decline in cannabis-related arrests by Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) officers, the report from the Justice Department said.

That same time period saw a seven percent decline in arrests for crack cocaine, and a six percent decline in arrests for powder cocaine.

In raw numbers, the DEA made 8,215 arrests for cannabis-related offenses in 2010, compared with 2,576 in 2020. 

The number of pot-related arrests declined each year in that decade.

The cannabis reform advocacy group NORML also pointed to data from the United States Sentencing Commission (USSC), which reported that “federal convictions for marijuana-related activities have similarly declined over the past decade.”

“Marijuana law enforcement is becoming less of a federal priority in an age where the majority of Americans believe that cannabis ought to be legal,” NORML’s Deputy Director Paul Armentano said. “It is vital that Congress takes action to amend federal law in a manner that comports with this reality,” he continued.

The decline in weed arrests coincided with a period in the country that has seen a growing number of states and cities end prohibition and legalize recreational pot use for adults.

Polls consistently show broad, bipartisan support for cannabis legalization.

But despite the change in laws and attitudes, cannabis remains illegal on the federal level as a result of its status on the Controlled Substances Act.

With Democrats controlling Congress and the executive branch, there is hope among advocates that legalization will finally go national.

In April, Democrats in the House of Representatives passed the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement (MORE) Act, a measure that would remove pot from the Controlled Substances Act.

Democrats in the Senate have said that they will offer up their own legalization bill. That was initially supposed to happen by the end of April, but Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer later said that the bill will likely be unveiled before the Congressional recess in August.

Schumer has made no secret of his desire to pass a legalization bill.

Last year, he said that the party was eager to move on the issue, despite President Joe Biden’s own misgivings about ending prohibition.

“We will move forward,” Schumer said at the time. “[Biden] said he’s studying the issue, so [I] obviously want to give him a little time to study it. I want to make my arguments to him, as many other advocates will. But at some point we’re going to move forward, period.”

“In 2018, I was the first member of the Democratic leadership to come out in support of ending the federal prohibition. I’m sure you ask, ‘Well what changed?’ Well, my thinking evolved. When a few of the early states—Oregon and Colorado—wanted to legalize, all the opponents talked about the parade of horribles: Crime would go up. Drug use would go up. Everything bad would happen,” he added. “The legalization of states worked out remarkably well. They were a great success. The parade of horribles never came about, and people got more freedom. And people in those states seem very happy.”

There were other notable takeaways in the report from the Department of Justice, which noted that “U.S. marshals made 120,112 arrests [in Fiscal Year 2020], a 42% decrease from the 206,630 bookings in FY 2019.”

The report also said that the “coronavirus pandemic drove an 81% decline in arrests and 77% decline in cases charged from March to April 2020,” and that of “the 26,696 Drug Enforcement Administration arrests in FY 2020, the most common drug type involved was methamphetamine (8,783 arrests), followed by powder cocaine (4,474 arrests).”

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Police don’t merely enforce unjust laws. They help create them, protect them, and profit from them.

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