Last week, after going where few campaigns would tread: a roundtable on homelessness, Skid Row, San Quentin Prison, and a marijuana dispensary, Beto released his comprehensive plan on drug policy.
And like many of Beto's plans, it is intersectional in its inclusion of racial and economic justice—not just legalizing marijuana but investing revenue from the marijuana business into communities harmed by the war on drugs.
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The plan appears to be the most progressive & detailed on the issue among the top 2020 candidates
betoorourke.com/…
Legalize Marijuana:
- Amend federal statutes to lift the federal prohibition on marijuana, legalize marijuana at the federal and state level, and remove it from the controlled substances list;
- Controls the licensing for producers, distributors, and sellers to ensure that potency and quality are regulated, as well as to ensure that there is payment of taxes and fees;
- Allow for marijuana-related business owners to use banks for their businesses;
- Use clemency power to release those currently serving sentences for marijuana possession and establish a review board to determine whether others currently serving sentences related to marijuana should be released;
- Expunge the records of those who have been convicted for possession and prevent the conviction from precluding these individuals from accessing housing, employment, education, and federal benefits, or from having their driver’s licenses suspended;
- Build a model of regulation for marijuana similar to how alcohol is regulated.
- Limit the sale of marijuana to adults and require proof of age and identification before a customer is allowed to purchase;
- Require producers, distributors, and sellers to keep their facilities apart from schools, daycares, churches and other incompatible land uses;
- Conduct an aggressive advertising campaign that outlines the dangers associated with marijuana use, with a strong focus on deterring driving under the influence (DUI) and use by children;
- Limit smoking of marijuana to private residences and nonpublic spaces;
- Restrict advertisements of marijuana along the lines of tobacco products, where it is prohibited from appealing to children and the dangers are clearly stated;
- Invest in development of marijuana breathalyzer technology and ignition interlock devices and scale adoption of DUI laws that integrate the use of those technologies;
- Track and trace marijuana and related products throughout the distribution chain to monitor for irregularities in quality; and
- Establish minimum federal sustainability standards for growers with regard to water, energy, and land use efficiency.
- Remove cannabis-related charges as grounds for deportation or denial of citizenship. The Trump Administration has explicitly targeted those with marijuana possession convictions for deportation, even though marijuana has been legalized in 11 states and the District of Columbia.
- Ensure access to medicinal marijuana for all those who need it. Until federal legislation and reform, allow for nationwide access to marijuana, support the compassionate use of medicinal marijuana as an effective remedy for pain control, PTS, anxiety, and many other conditions, help resolve bureaucratic hurdles, and allow VA physicians to prescribe or recommend medical marijuana.
Invest revenue from the marijuana industry:
- Call for a federal tax on the marijuana industry, revenue from which will be used to:
- Provide a monthly “Drug War Justice Grant” to those formerly incarcerated for nonviolent marijuana offenses in state and federal prison for a period based on time served. The grants will be funded completely by the tax on the marijuana industry.
- Fund substance use treatment programs.
- Support re-entry services for those who have been incarcerated for possession.
- Invest in communities disproportionately impacted by marijuana arrests, including investments in housing and employment support, substance use and mental health treatment, peer and recovery support services, life skills training, victims’ services.
- Support those disproportionately impacted by marijuana arrests, including those who have been convicted of marijuana possession themselves in participating in the marijuana businesses by providing technical assistance, industry-specific training, access to interest free/low-interest loans, and access to investment financing and legal services.
- Ensure those most impacted by the War on Drugs are the ones benefiting from the economic activity related to marijuana. As President, Beto will tie federal funding for criminal justice systems to requirements that states or local governments:
- Waive licensing fees for producing, distributing, or selling marijuana for low-income individuals who have been convicted of marijuana offenses.
- Licensing fees can cost up to $120,000, a figure that excludes associated business costs such as legal fees, insurance, taxes, and marketing. These exorbitant fees shut out exactly those who have been unjustly penalized from America’s drug policies from benefiting from a legal marijuana economy.
- Ensure that the majority of licenses go to minority-owned businesses and those disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs, including those who have been convicted of marijuana use or possession themselves.
- Protect marijuana businesses owned by low-income individuals and people of color from predatory investors and discrimination. In Beto’s small business plan he has outlined steps he would take to root out institutional racism in the small business lending market and expand access to credit for small business owners, including marijuana business owners.
Like many issues, Beto never waited for polls to tell him what was politically advantageous. In 2009, he saw what the drug war was doing to his border hometown of El Paso and started debate about marijuana legalization on the city Council. He co-wrote a book on the relationship of marijuana prohibition and drug war violence. Then he took on incumbent Representative Sylvestre Reyes on this key issue. And won the Congressional primary and general election in 2012.
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The former city councilman of El Paso's criticism of the war on drugs traces back to 2009 when he called for a debate within city government on the subject.The effort failed after a veto from the mayor, but two years later he co-wrote a book detailing the impacts of marijuana prohibition on violence at the U.S.-Mexico border. He has also co-sponsored several pieces of federal legislative proposals aimed at legalizing and regulating marijuana as a U.S.congressman.
Prior to Beto's run for Congress, politicians were only arguing about who was tougher on drugs. Beto won his race for Congress and changed the political dynamics of marijuana legalization. The video below shares Beto’s thoughts both historical and recent on this issue:
Beto is living up to his campaign promise to go places where people have been marginalized and bring them into the national conversation.
www.mercurynews.com/...
“If ever there were a time to be with those who’ve been marginalized or counted out or down, it is now,” O’Rourke said, after a tour of the store and a meeting with local cannabis entrepreneurs. “To elevate them and lift their stories and share them with the rest of the country — that’s what I’m trying to do as a candidate, that’s what I will do as president.
“If I really want to understand the story of this country, if I really want to understand the solutions to the challenges that we face, I’ve really got to listen to everyone… and not only go to those early primary states or those superdelegates who are going to vote at the Democratic convention,” O’Rourke said
I'll close with this fitting quote from the executive director of NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws):
www.forbes.com/…
Erik Altieri, executive director of NORML. "As Silicon Valley bros and Wall Street suits attempt to exploit legalization to turn a profit, an idea like O'Rourke's would ensure that the victims of our war on cannabis aren't forgotten or left behind."
Please check out Beto’s vision and plans at BetoORourke.com and donate to his campaign, which is powered by people, not PACs or special interests or corporations.
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