{"id":344596,"date":"2018-01-20T00:29:31","date_gmt":"2018-01-19T23:29:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/newswire\/a-marijuana-related-charge-can-still-impact-somebody-for-life\/"},"modified":"2018-01-20T00:29:31","modified_gmt":"2018-01-19T23:29:31","slug":"a-marijuana-related-charge-can-still-impact-somebody-for-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/newswire\/a-marijuana-related-charge-can-still-impact-somebody-for-life\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018A Marijuana-Related Charge Can Still Impact Somebody for Life\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Janine Jackson interviewed Art Way about cannabis recriminalization for the <a href=\"https:\/\/fair.org\/home\/jane-mcalevey-on-metoo-labor-art-way-on-pot-recriminalization\/\">January 12, 2018, episode<\/a>\u00a0of <strong>CounterSpin<\/strong>. This is a lightly edited transcript.<\/em><\/p>\n<div id=\"wrapperMI_0\" class=\"wrap-mjp  \" style=\"padding:5px 0px 40px 0px;margin:0px;width:100%\">\n<div class=\"Eabove-mjp\" id=\"Eabove-mjp_0\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"subwrap-MI\">\n<div class=\"jp-innerwrap\">\n<div class=\"innerx\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"innerleft\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"innerright\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"innertab\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"interface-mjp verdana-mjp\" style=\"height:71px\" id=\"interfaceMI_0\">\n<div class=\"MI-image Himg right-mjp\" id=\"MI_image_0\" style=\"width:auto;height:71px;overflow:hidden\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"T_mp3j_0\" class=\"player-track-title left-mjp norm-mjp plain-mjp childNorm-mjp childPlain-mjp\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"bars_holder\">\n<div class=\"loadMI_mp3j\" id=\"load_mp3j_0\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"poscolMI_mp3j\" id=\"poscol_mp3j_0\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"posbarMI_mp3j\" id=\"posbar_mp3j_0\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"P-Time-MI_0\" class=\"jp-play-time\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"T-Time-MI_0\" class=\"jp-total-time\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"statusMI_0\" class=\"statusMI\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"transport-MI\">\n<div class=\"play-mjp\" id=\"playpause_mp3j_0\">Play<\/div>\n<div class=\"stop-mjp\" id=\"stop_mp3j_0\">Stop<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"buttons-wrap-mjp\" id=\"buttons-wrap-mjp_0\">\n<div class=\"mp3j-popout-MI\" id=\"lpp_mp3j_0\">pop out<\/div>\n<div id=\"download_mp3j_0\" class=\"dloadmp3-MI\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"mjp-volwrap\">\n<div class=\"MIsliderVolume\" id=\"vol_mp3j_0\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"innerExt1\" id=\"innerExt1_0\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"innerExt2\" id=\"innerExt2_0\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"Ebetween-mjp\" id=\"Ebetween-mjp_0\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"listwrap_mp3j\" id=\"L_mp3j_0\">\n<div class=\"wrapper-mjp\">\n<div class=\"playlist-colour\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"wrapper-mjp\">\n<ul class=\"ul-mjp darken1-mjp verdana-mjp med-mjp childNorm-mjp childPlain-mjp left-mjp\" id=\"UL_mp3j_0\">\n<li><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<div id=\"mp3j_finfo_0\" class=\"mp3j-finfo\">\n<div class=\"mp3j-finfo-sleeve\">\n<div id=\"mp3j_finfo_gif_0\" class=\"mp3j-finfo-gif\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"mp3j_finfo_txt_0\" class=\"mp3j-finfo-txt\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"mp3j-finfo-close\" id=\"mp3j_finfo_close_0\">X<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"mp3j_dlf_0\" class=\"mp3j-dlframe\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"mp3j-nosolution\" id=\"mp3j_nosolution_0\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"Ebelow-mjp\" id=\"Ebelow-mjp_0\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>MP3jPLAYLISTS.MI_0 = [<br \/>\n\t{ name: &#8220;1. CounterSpin Art Way Interview &#8220;, formats: [&#8220;mp3&#8221;], mp3: &#8220;aHR0cDovL3d3dy5mYWlyLm9yZy9hdWRpby9jb3VudGVyc3Bpbi9Db3VudGVyU3BpbjE4MDExMldheS5tcDM=&#8221;, counterpart:&#8221;&#8221;, artist: &#8220;&#8221;, image: &#8220;true&#8221;, imgurl: &#8220;&#8221; }<br \/>\n];<\/p>\n<p>MP3jPLAYERS[0] = { list:MP3jPLAYLISTS.MI_0, tr:0, type:&#8217;MI&#8217;, lstate:true, loop:false, play_txt:&#8217;Play&#8217;, pause_txt:&#8217;Pause&#8217;, pp_title:&#8217;FAIR&#8217;, autoplay:false, download:true, vol:80, height:71, cssclass:&#8217; &#8216;, popout_css:{ enabled:true, \t\t\tcolours: [&#8220;#fff&#8221;, &#8220;rgba(201,207,232,0.35)&#8221;, &#8220;rgb(241,241,241)&#8221;, &#8220;rgba(245,5,5,0.7)&#8221;, &#8220;rgba(92,201,255,0.8)&#8221;, &#8220;transparent&#8221;, &#8220;transparent&#8221;, &#8220;#525252&#8221;, &#8220;#525252&#8221;, &#8220;#768D99&#8221;, &#8220;#47ACDE&#8221;, &#8220;&#8221;, 600, 200 ],<br \/>\n\t\t\tcssInterface: { &#8220;color&#8221;: &#8220;#525252&#8221; },<br \/>\n\t\t\tcssTitle: { &#8220;left&#8221;: &#8220;16px&#8221;, &#8220;right&#8221;:&#8221;16px&#8221;, &#8220;top&#8221;:&#8221;8px&#8221; },<br \/>\n\t\t\tcssImage: { &#8220;overflow&#8221;: &#8220;hidden&#8221;, &#8220;width&#8221;:&#8221;auto&#8221;, &#8220;height&#8221;:&#8221;71px&#8221;  },<br \/>\n\t\t\tcssFontSize: { &#8220;title&#8221;: &#8220;16px&#8221;, &#8220;caption&#8221;: &#8220;11.2px&#8221;, &#8220;list&#8221;: &#8220;12px&#8221; },<br \/>\n\t\t\tclasses: { interface:&#8217; verdana-mjp&#8217;, title:&#8217; left-mjp norm-mjp plain-mjp childNorm-mjp childPlain-mjp&#8217;, image:&#8217; Himg right-mjp&#8217;, poscol:&#8221;, ul:&#8217; darken1-mjp verdana-mjp med-mjp childNorm-mjp childPlain-mjp left-mjp&#8217; }} };<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.fair.org\/audio\/counterspin\/CounterSpin180112Way.mp3\"><strong>MP3 Link<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><b>Janine Jackson: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Several states and the District of Columbia have now legalized marijuana for recreational use, as long as certain rules are followed, like keeping it away from minors, and keeping revenue away from criminal enterprises. Still more states allow for medical marijuana. But pot is still illegal under federal law, classified a Schedule 1 drug, like heroin. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Many assumed\u2014smelling the wind, if you will\u2014that these tensions would be overridden as more states legalize, and as public approval, already around 60 percent, increases, probably resulting in national legalization. A profitable industry is growing with just that expectation, particularly as states that have legalized aren\u2019t reporting negative impacts in public health or crime. <\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_7959117\" style=\"max-width: 360px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-7959117\" src=\"https:\/\/fair.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Jeff-Sessions.png\" alt=\"Jeff Sessions\" width=\"350\" height=\"280\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Jeff Sessions: \u201cGood people don\u2019t smoke marijuana.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">But Attorney General Jeff Sessions\u2019 stance is reflected in his <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/wonk\/wp\/2016\/11\/18\/trumps-pick-for-attorney-general-good-people-dont-smoke-marijuana\/?utm_term=.9f7af3f542a9\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">declaration<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, \u201cGood people don\u2019t smoke marijuana.\u201d His recent move, rescinding Obama-era guidance that had federal prosecutors take a laissez-faire approach to states, should probably be understood in that light. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">What are the possible impacts of Sessions\u2019 animus, and what\u2014or who\u2014is missing from the current conversation about marijuana and its legal status? Art Way is a senior director for national criminal justice reform strategy at the Drug Policy Alliance, and state director for DPA\u2019s Colorado office. He joins us by phone from his office in Denver. Welcome to <\/span><b>CounterSpin<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, Art Way.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Art Way:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Thank you, Janine.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>JJ:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The so-called \u201cCole Memo\u201d from previous Deputy Attorney General James Cole said, as I understand it, that if states with legalized marijuana followed some rules, the Feds wouldn\u2019t crack down on them. Sessions\u2019 rescinding that, along with other related guidance, doesn\u2019t order federal prosecutors to do anything, but it sort of sounds like it greenlights it if they want to do it. Some facilities and states are saying, \u201cBring it on,\u201d but others seem worried. It sounds like it\u2019s mainly causing confusion. Do you see potential fallout on the ground from this, in Colorado or elsewhere?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>AW:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> No, I think there is concern here that the goal was to chill investment into the industry and sort of slow things down. Obama-era guidance basically said, you know, this isn\u2019t going to be our highest priority. I think it\u2019s important to note that it did not prevent federal action, but it essentially said, this won\u2019t be our highest priority, and if you do these certain things, we\u2019re going to back off and let this take place. It allowed for private industry to invest in the new marijuana industry. It allowed for states to relax and start to regulate the new industry. And now with Sessions rescinding that guidance, we don\u2019t think it\u2019s really going to impact the industry as it stands right now, but it may slow down certain investment, and maybe slow the states down from doing things that they would have done if he would have kept the Obama guidance in place.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>JJ:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> There\u2019s a big picture sense that you get, from media anyway, that there\u2019s kind of a zeitgeist that pot is OK now, and is only going to get more OK, and you wouldn\u2019t really guess from that that there\u2019s anybody still going to jail for using marijuana. But that\u2019s not really true, is it?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>AW:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> No, especially in certain states. Places like Oklahoma and Louisiana, you have people doing serious time for possessing marijuana. In the states that have legalized, they\u2019ve already gone down a decriminalization path. So like here in Colorado, less than 1 percent of our state prison population is there where marijuana is their most serious offense. But that\u2019s not the case in many other states. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">But even in places like Colorado that have decriminalized marijuana over the last decade, the collateral consequences of a marijuana-related charge can still impact somebody for life. So what you saw in California recently, where Prop. 64 is, is collateral relief that went along with their marijuana initiative; it went along with their legalization attempt. We didn\u2019t really see that in Colorado and Washington, and we\u2019re trying to kind of pick up the pieces and allow people to expunge their records from things that are now legal under Amendment 64 here in Colorado. So even though people may not be in prison for marijuana all over the country, people are still dealing with the collateral consequences of a marijuana-related charge.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>JJ:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Yeah, it\u2019s good not to forget that being arrested for possession, even of a small amount, can mean deportation, exclusion from housing or education, losing custody of your kids. And I think the idea of it going from that, primarily impacting people of color around the country, to being this profitable industry\u2014I hear $6 billion nationally\u2014that\u2019s run by white people&#8230;. There\u2019s kind of a dystopian image there.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>AW:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Yeah, we\u2019ve evolved to that point. I think in 2011, when Colorado and Washington were first starting to push the envelope here, that reparative justice element to marijuana legalization was not present. That\u2019s something that\u2019s evolved over the last couple years, and it culminated with what we saw with Prop. 64. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">And so here in Colorado, we\u2019re trying to go back, basically, and say: Let\u2019s refine our regulatory framework. Let\u2019s ensure that we increase access to the industry, limit barriers to the industry, make sure felons can be involved, establish micro-licenses so people don\u2019t have to raise a quarter million to $3 billion just to get into the game; they can get into the game at a much smaller level. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">But it\u2019s kind of harder to go backwards and do these things, as opposed to doing them upfront. I wish I would have had the wisdom back in 2011 to think along the reparative justice lines. But it\u2019s just one of those things you had to learn as things go.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_7958110\" style=\"max-width: 215px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-7958110\" src=\"https:\/\/fair.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Steve-Alford.jpg\" alt=\"Steve Alford\" width=\"205\" height=\"300\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Kansas state Rep. Steve Alford: \u201cAfrican-Americans, they were basically users.&#8221;<br \/><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><b>JJ:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Yeah, I don\u2019t want to take us backward, but I do want to say, in case folks forget that the war on drugs has always been racist, you have things like Kansas state Rep. Steve Alford, who <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gctelegram.com\/news\/20180108\/rep-steve-alford-cites-belief-blacks-more-susceptible-to-marijuana\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">said<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u2014in 2018\u2014that we need to remember why marijuana was outlawed in the past, which was in part because, \u201cAfrican-Americans, they were basically users, and they basically responded the worst off to those drugs just because of their character makeup, their genetics and that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>AW:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Wow.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>JJ:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Yeah, that\u2019s recent news, and he seemed to be referring to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/fair.org\/home\/book-excerpt-the-origins-of-reefer-madness\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Harry Anslinger<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, the first commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, who ran the anti-marijuana crusade in the late \u201930s, who said, \u201cReefer makes darkies think they\u2019re as good as white men.\u201d You know, uh.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>AW:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Yeah, I think Anslinger would have even been proud, or even a little bit shocked, about what Alford said. I mean, for him to say that in 2018 is sad, but it\u2019s almost impressive, in an unfortunate way. <\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_7958268\" style=\"max-width: 360px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-7958268\" src=\"https:\/\/fair.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Art-Way.jpg\" alt=\"Art Way\" width=\"350\" height=\"280\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Art Way: &#8220;Drug policies have always been a way for law enforcement and people in control to put their hands on the undesirables in their communities.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">But, yeah, I think people don\u2019t realize that our drug policies did not begin from some notion of, how do we keep people healthy and safe. Drug policies have always been a way for law enforcement and people in control to put their hands on the undesirables in their communities, the so-called undesirables, poor people, people of color. You know, we saw it with opium, when it comes to Chinese immigrants on the West Coast. Cocaine was affiliated with African-Americans, once they started to leave the sharecropping fields and get jobs in the cities, like Mobile and New Orleans. And marijuana prohibition really started here in the Southwest when it comes to the migrations of Central Americans and Mexicans coming up into the country. So whenever there was a concern about certain migrations and people being a part of this country, who some didn\u2019t feel should be a part of this country, drug policy popped up as a way to keep control of the racial and social hierarchy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>JJ:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Absolutely, and as we move in a different direction, you can\u2019t just erase that. You still have to be mindful of that going forward. Let me just let you close with: I just heard about in New York, they are pushing for the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act, that\u2019s going to direct, or try to direct, tax revenue from marijuana tax sales to education and to job training specifically in the communities most harmed by the war on drugs. And I understand that Colorado has its own programs that have something to do with not forgetting where we came from as we go forward. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>AW:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Yeah, we are out to ensure there\u2019s a reparative justice aspect to our legalization framework, and we\u2019re also working to reallocate marijuana tax revenue to communities most in need, when it comes to mental health and drug dependency, through certain public health interventions, like law enforcement assisted diversion and co-responder programs. We want to ensure that in the jurisdictions where these programs are implemented, they do address those who historically have had the most problems with prohibition, and with law enforcement. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">We want to make sure that these public health interventions just don\u2019t become some kind of glorious diversion program for law enforcement, where they pick and choose who they want to help. We want to ensure that those who are in and out of the local jails on a monthly basis, in and out of local jails, where their dependency and mental health issues remain&#8212;we\u2019re trying to divert them upfront from the local jails, and we want to make sure that law enforcement in those jurisdictions looks to help people who historically have been disproportionately targeted by law enforcement during the drug war, and that\u2019s people of color and poor people struggling with mental health and drug dependency issues.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>JJ:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> We\u2019ve been speaking with Art Way, senior director for national criminal justice reform strategy at the Drug Policy Alliance and state director for DPA\u2019s Colorado office. You can find more about their work on their website <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.drugpolicy.org\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">DrugPolicy.org<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. Art Way, thank you very much for joining us this week on <\/span><b>CounterSpin<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>AW:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Thank you, Janine.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"et_bloom_bottom_trigger\"><\/span><br \/>\nThis piece was reprinted by <a href=\"http:\/\/rinf.com\">RINF Alternative News<\/a> with permission from <a href=\"https:\/\/fair.org\/home\/a-marijuana-related-charge-can-still-impact-somebody-for-life\/\">FAIR<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Janine Jackson interviewed Art Way about cannabis recriminalization for the January 12, 2018, episode\u00a0of CounterSpin. This is a lightly edited transcript. Play Stop pop out X MP3jPLAYLISTS.MI_0 = [ { name: &#8220;1. 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