For August, our focus will be “Criminal Injustice and Cannabis”, and we’ll take a holistic look at various layers of the system and where we may find cracks to help the People while we continue to advocate for legalization.
Take the prosecutors - you may know them as Attorneys General, District Attorneys, or simply prosecutors. Their role is to determine the charges to bring when a person is perceived to be violating North Carolina’s statutes. A law enforcement officer will recommend charges, but it is the prosecutor who decides whether evidence exists to formally file charges. There seems to be quite a bit of latitude in that process. For example, if you do a quick search for “prosecutors not charging for cannabis possession” and you’ll see an idea that is taking hold in many parts of the country. DA’s have this option. Here’s a story about 2 counties in Virginia making this move. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/new-fairfax-county-prosecutor-says-office-wont-prosecute-marijuana-possession/2020/01/02/ab0363a4-2d76-11ea-9b60-817cc18cf173_story.html
There is an opportunity in North Carolina to get to know the prosecutors in our home counties and find opportunities to negotiate reduction or elimination of charges against our residents for cannabis possession. District Attorneys are elected by the people - it’s time for us to let them know where we stand. Our tax dollars should not be spent to prosecute petty possession charges, and NC NORML has the research to back up our recommendations!
Coming Soon!
We are working on our 2020 voter guide “Smoke the Vote” and are making plans for the next session of the NC General Assembly, but we need you to be our eyes and ears to keep up with the 170 members. If you have recently spoken with your state Senator or Representative or have seen news on their opinions related to cannabis, please save the details and be on the lookout for a new form we will release for entering that info. Then, we will be able to also provide customized content to help you advance the conversations with your lawmakers, meeting them where they are.
Get Ready for Voting:
Elections are decided by those who show up. Will our community’s voice be heard on November 3?
It’s up to us. Let’s legalize it. https://norml.org/act/register-to-vote #NORML #vote #registertovote #smokethevote #legalizeit #legalizeamerica
As always:
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