Justice reform: Ratify the Pathway to Legalization amendment in the Democratic platform. www.change.org/…
This weekend, all eyes were on the events in Minneapolis, Baton Rouge, and Dallas. Everyone has an opinion, emotions are running high, and I suspect that the silent majority of people in this country want to support both the black community AND the police officers of our nation. After the events of this weekend, we all are hoping and praying for solutions.
With all this going on, some news stories slipped through the cracks. Democratic delegates met to propose changes and additions to the party platform. They added something that neither Bernie Sanders or Hillary Clinton campaigned on... removing marijuana from the Schedule one drug list and providing a "pathway to Legalization".
The text of the marijuana amendment:
Because of conflicting laws concerning marijuana, both on the federal and state levels, we encourage the federal government to remove marijuanafrom its list as a Class 1 Federal Controlled Substance, providing a reasoned pathway for future legalization.
The text of the criminal justice amendment:
We will work with police chiefs to invest in training for officers on issues such as de-escalation and the creation of national guidelines for the appropriate use of force, including how to de-escalate situations. We will encourage better police-community relations, require the use of body cameras, and stop the use of weapons of war that have no place in our communities. We will end racial profiling that targets individuals solely on race, religion, ethnicity, and national origin, which is un-American and counterproductive. We should report national data on policing strategies and provide greater transparency and accountability. We will require the Department of Justice to investigate all questionable or suspicious police-involved shootings, and we will support states and localities who help make those investigations and prosecutions more transparent, including through reforming the grand jury process.
Please ask your state representatives to commit to justice reform by taking this simple first step. Ratifying the party platform with this change would mean a lot to young voters, the poor, and the disenfranchised.