• The war on marijuana has caused tremendous damage. When we end the marijuana war we need to do so not only to create a policy that will work for the future but one that corrects the mistakes of the past. Some of the essential elements of a sensible marijuana policy includes:
  • • Repeal criminal laws for marijuana offenses.
  • • Remove marijuana from the Schedules of the Controlled Substances Act so it can be used medically.
  • • Allow people to grow their own marijuana without any taxation.
  • • Tax marijuana like any other commodity without a special marijuana tax.
  • • Do not allow the liquor, tobacco, pharmaceutical and Big Ag industries, and corporations like Monsanto, to engage in the marijuana market.
  • • Prevent marijuana oligopolies with caps on limits of market share.
• When marijuana is legalized we need to also put in place policies that repair the damage done by the war on marijuana. All nonviolent marijuana offenders should be released from prison. The records of people arrested on marijuana charges need to be expunged so they are not handicapped in seeking employment, education, and housing.
• There has been tremendous damage done to individuals, families and communities by abusive marijuana enforcement that has been racially unfair. A truth and reconciliation commission should be created to gather information on the damage that has been done and report on the impact of mass arrests and incarceration for marijuana offenses. This commission should make recommendations on how to make reparations for this damage after hearing from people in communities that were targeted by law enforcement. As a first step toward repairing the damage, people who were arrested or convicted of marijuana offenses should be given preference to work in legal marijuana commerce.
• Revenues generated from marijuana taxes should be used to uplift communities that have been hit hardest by the war on drugs. These funds should not be used for law enforcement but for grants to entrepreneurs of color, and aiding businesses and communities hit hardest by the drug war. (Source)

• “New York, where I live, is the world’s capital for marijuana arrests. They’re filling the prison system, the law enforcement system, and the criminal justice system with cases that they shouldn’t even be bothering with. The problem is exacerbated by civil asset forfeiture, which incentivizes police departments to use marijuana crimes as a way to seize peoples’ property to sell to raise revenue.”
• “Jails are expanding because of the War on Drugs and mass incarceration. We have 25% of the world’s prison population but only 4% of the world’s population. So we want to reverse that.”
• “(Decriminalization) is a positive step forward,” he says. “But I think the politicians are behind the public on this. They’re afraid of the public. They’re afraid to stick their neck out. I mean, you know, the Democrats are usually seen as the socially liberal party, but if you follow issues like marijuana legalization or gay marriage, they don’t move until public opinion is really clear. So I think Biden kind of epitomizes this being super cautious rather than deciding what’s a real solution and fighting for it.” 5/20/20 (Source)
• “It’s time we reverse the devastating impact the War on Drugs has on our communities, as one of the basic sources of mass incarceration. We need to legalize marijuana, decriminalize personal use of other drugs, and expunge the records of those imprisoned.” 4/20/20 (Source)

"This country has had almost a century of drug prohibition, four decades of the war on drugs, yet there are more drugs at cheaper prices on our streets than ever before and we have spent hundreds of billions of dollars on interdiction alone. Those who insist on a continuation of 21st century Prohibition are agreeing that both production and distribution of drugs be left in control of criminals, funding terrorists and cartels such as those fueling the drug violence in Mexico. Drug use should be handled as a public health issue, not one of crime. It is time to legalize, regulate, and tax so-called recreational drugs, like we do alcohol and tobacco. The European countries that have tried this approach have virtually eliminated drug-related crimes and reduced the population of drug users," Link