The Marijuana Lifer Project’s Cheri Sicard joins Mnar Muhawesh on ‘Behind the Headline’ to explain how some people continue to serve lifetime sentences for nonviolent marijuana-related offenses even as marijuana legalization sweeps the country.
MINNEAPOLIS — Adult recreational use of marijuana is now legal in eight states and the District of Columbia, and 29 states have embraced some form of medical marijuana legalization.
There’s even a pot plant cultivation competition at the annual Oregon State Fair.
By 2015, legal cannabis had become the fastest-growing industry in the United States, and it’s expected to hit $7.1 billion this year.
Despite this progress, 640,000 people were arrested last year for violating marijuana laws.
And while marijuana-related offenses aren’t punishable by death, some offenders are hit with other penalties with effects that can ripple throughout a lifetime, like the loss of a job or public benefits.
Others, like Farrell Scott, are serving life sentences for violating federal marijuana statutes.
And marijuana laws don’t seem to be enforced equally. The the ACLU reports that black and white Americans use cannabis at roughly the same rate, but arrest rates for black are far higher.
Here to discuss some of the often forgotten victims of the U.S. drug war is Cheri Sicard. She’s the founder and executive director of the Marijuana Lifer Project, a nonprofit organization fighting for an end to the criminalization of marijuana and the release of those imprisoned for marijuana-related offenses.
Learn about millions of Muslims march against ISIS, the Flint water crisis & life in prison for pot on the full episode of the Behind The Headline:
Una entrevista con la activista contra la guerra Cindy Sheehan sobre cómo los liberales aprendieron a amarla, su enfrentamiento con la Marcha de las Mujeres y más.
Es inconcebible para los Estados Unidos que una fuerza "trapos" como la de los hutíes de Yemen, con armas caseras, supere el poder de cien mil millones de dólares y la sofisticación de los sistemas de vanguardia que Washington ha prodigado. los sauditas
Occidente tiene más que ver con el movimiento de protesta de Hong Kong de lo que nos gustaría que supiéramos. Es la cara fea de la política exterior de larga data de Washington dirigida a desestabilizar a uno de sus enemigos económicos de larga data: China.
Los mismos medios que han pasado años arrastrando el nombre de Assange a través del barro ahora están participando en un apagón en su tratamiento. Si está esperando que los expertos de los medios corporativos defiendan la libertad de prensa, se sentirá decepcionado.
