In response to some of the recent editorials presented regarding Question 2 and the Cannabis Reform Coalition (CRC), I think it's important to challenge the problematic - and frankly, offensive - insinuations.
The first challenge is in regards to commentary that the CRC and others working for drug reform are only interested in smoking pot, huffing dread wax and buying $40 drug rugs at Trade Roots. Most insidiously, it's important to challenge remarks claiming that decriminalization - and drug law reform in general - is somehow "not important" or a "non-issue" with little effect on the larger political climate.
Despite the scathingly clever and intellectually consistent social commentary in which the writers seem to simultaneously support and detest our ability to energize and activate the student populace, marijuana decriminalization is a much larger issue than just marijuana. It is also coincidently much larger than just this campus and this state on Nov. 4.
Marijuana decriminalization is, in fact, a social justice issue. It's the largest contributor to arrests in the nationwide - and increasingly globalized - war on drugs.
It's a war - like the War on Terror - which is, by nature, unwinnable and unaccountable to its stated goals of "eradicating drug use." Marijuana prohibition is an issue stretching much greater than its stated intent. In fact, it provides excellent insight into a variety of intersecting social problems in our criminal justice system.
According to Massachusetts' Drug Policy Alliance (Drugpolicy.org), 50 percent of the prison population consists of people of color. This is not because people of color do drugs at a higher frequency than whites. Instead, it's because of disparities in arrests, booking, access to lawyers and sentencing. People of color are incarcerated at a far higher level than whites who have committed similar crimes.
This is true across the country. Minorities and low-income individuals are particularly at a disadvantage when it comes to crime and punishment - contributing to the stereotype that "all (fill in the blank minority) are dangerous criminals."
Not only that, but felons are not allowed to vote, which means a large percentage of potential minority voters are deliberately silenced. In this case, individuals¬ - many of whom are young - can reasonably say that "my vote doesn't count."
Under current state law, being simply convicted of possessing a single joint can create a stain on one's record - specifically, the CORI criminal background report - which bars that individual from access to financial aid, public housing, adopting children, serving as a foster parent and can make that individual lose or be prevented from obtaining employment.
By imposing such draconian punishments on simple possession, punishments are statistically unevenly distributed according to race and class. We are, in fact, ensuring that these "criminals" - only such because possession is defined as a crime - have no options but to continue to be criminals. If they can't get a legitimate job or state assistance for housing and are already at a disadvantage economically or socially, why wouldn't they try to make money as a drug dealer?
This is how the war on drugs mistakenly justifies itself - by calling people criminals. This makes it legitimate to continue to fight the crime they've invented no matter how many millions of dollars or individual liberties are wasted along the way. Decriminalization, though it still labels the act of smoking or possessing up to one ounce a crime, would effectively deprioritize marijuana to a lesser crime on the totem pole - not to mention one which will not eliminate access to social programs and civil rights.
Inevitably, if we and other states continue to speak our mind about marijuana reform and drug war reform in general, we can make it possible to enact a legitimately sensible drug policy which does not oppress and impoverish communities and individuals in the name of a "war" we simply cannot win.
On a related note, to somehow also insinuate that the CRC is made up of apolitical stoners whose only causes are scrounging up the next blunt or bag of chips is an offensive, low-brow stereotyped attack. Notwithstanding, the fact is we actually have an unusually diverse spectrum of political views and beliefs within our rapidly expanding ranks.
Heather McCormack is a Cannabis Reform Coalition member. She can be reached at heatherm@student.umass.edu.
We forget that in our recent past there were states that still would arrest inter-racial couples, they were discriminated against. This is the same thing, yet today we wouldn’t think of telling those couples that they couldn't marry, we know its fine, we are educated about it and it’s not a big deal or shouldn’t be, but no one gets arrested for it. Same with gays, yet their battle still is being fought today, but they don’t get arrested for being gay like they did. There were all kinds of lies out there from extremists saying it wasn’t godly, it was wrong, the kids would be evil and many believed that, but we grew and learned and love overcame all. That's all the modern Cannabis activist is trying to do, educate people so that we can come out of the darkness and into a better world. A world where inter-racial couples and gays are not arrested and cannabis consumers are treated like NORML citizens that they are.As for Cannabis as an issue, well folks books and books have been written, there is more information than we can say here. It comes from 5000 years of human contact with the Hemp plant and our survival due to it. To our own founding fathers demanding that everyone grow it, to today! Just a minor 70 years of prohibition VS. 5000 years of use by humans, it’s all there to be read and learned. But our fight anymore and mainly right now is just allow us to have an honest and truthful debate, without being called names for doing it!I could list a million truths, facts, studies and science, I could list all the lies, misinformation and scare tactics they use, but until YOU educate yourself, you will believe what you think is right to believe and may not even believe this, but no one can change that but YOU!Heather, Thank you! Very well written and well thought out article.