Fox 8 - 3/29/21NC lawmakers aim to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana
Gailliard said he joined 27 other House Democrats supporting the legislation after looking at data showing that Black people were more likely to be charged with possession than their white counterparts.
“We can find a way to address this with a civil offense, or some type of civil penalty so they can perhaps have another opportunity to make something of their lives,” Gailliard said.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM
Our criminal justice system is broken. In the United States we have less than 5 percent of the world’s population but nearly 25 percent of the incarcerated. Mass incarceration negatively impacts our state racially, socially, and economically. Here in our state, I served on the North Carolina Task Force for Racial Equity in Criminal Justice. We must commit to reimagining public safety, improving policing practices, enhancing accountability, and strengthening recruitment and training in the law enforcement profession.
While this is necessary work, we need to do more to ensure people do not enter prison in the first place. More work must be done to reform sentencing guidelines and bail regulations as well as address mental health and substance abuse issues outside our criminal justice system. I support decriminalizing small amounts of marijuana possession and promote school justice partnerships to dismantle the school to prison pipeline. I also support greater funding to law enforcement officers to ensure their physical, mental, and emotional health.
B Publicly supports legalization of medical cannabis and/or decriminalization - cosponsor of legislation.
Voting HistoryL
There have been no cannabis related bills voted on in his terms in the House.