Category: Criminal Justice
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Unpacking Racially Disproportionate Cannabis Arrests in D.C. and Baltimore
Earlier this month, The Washington Post published “D.C. legalized marijuana, but one thing didn’t change: Almost everyone arrested on pot charges is Black,” a lengthy report that crunched cannabis arrest numbers in the District and spoke to some of those affected by those arrests, which are occurring after D.C. legalized cannabis, has a medicinal cannabis…
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Quick Hit: Virginia Man Punches State Trooper During Traffic Stop For Cannabis Smell
A September 16, 2020 NBC12 story titled, “VSP: Richmond man arrested after punching trooper in face.” is the kind of police stenography masquerading as journalism The Outlaw Report has criticized plenty before. It describes a stop in which a state trooper in Richmond, Virginia pulled over a man for speeding and then after saying he…
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House Vote on MORE Act Postponed Until After the Election
The House of Representatives decided to delay a planned vote on landmark cannabis legislation The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act (MORE) until after the election, citing the need to pass a Covid-19 relief package beforehand and concern that voting on a cannabis bill could be a political liability before the November election. Under the…
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Op-Ed: National Expungement Week of Action in the DMV
by Ray Dixon National Expungement Week (N.E.W.) is a non-cannabis specific awareness movement that facilitates expungement relief and wrap-around services to communities affected by the War on Drugs. The American Bar Association describes “expungement” as “the process by which a record of criminal conviction is destroyed or sealed from state or federal record.” An expungement…
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Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney Addresses National Cannabis Policy Summit; Virginia Expungement Bills Approved
Last week, the National Cannabis Policy Summit happened—virtually—and Richmond, Virginia Mayor Levar Stoney was among those who spoke. Like many other lawmakers in Virginia, Stoney pushed for cannabis legalization immediately after cannabis decriminalization went into effect. In August, Stoney sent a letter to Virginia’s governor Ralph Northam demanding the legalization and regulation of cannabis connecting…
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The Reccless Tigers, a Fire-Bombing Weed Gang Out of Virginia, Indicted Last Month
In early September 2012, members of the Reccless Tigers, a Virginia weed-dealing gang moving cannabis, vape pens, and edibles from California to Virginia approached a house in a leafy, middle class suburb of Springfield, VA and exacted revenge. One of the residents of a home on Victoria Rd. was supposed to give the Tigers $11,000…
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Quick Hit: The National Cannabis Policy Summit Is On September 10
On Thursday, September 10, the National Cannabis Policy Summit will be held. The third annual event is virtual this year and is also free to attend (you just have to register) giving those anywhere in the country who are interested in cannabis reform a chance to be part of the summit. The ability to attend…
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House of Representatives Will Vote on The Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement Act (The MORE Act)
The week of September 21, the House of Representatives will vote on The Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement Act (MORE Act). The vote on this potentially historic bill which would expunge many people’s criminal records for cannabis, develop a grant program for those who have been harmed by the criminalization of cannabis, and facilitate nationwide…
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Virginia Senate Passes Legislation Preventing Cops From Searching Cars Based On Cannabis Smell
While cannabis legalization has not yet been considered during Virginia’s Special Legislative Session, two notable bills introduced passed the Senate last week: Senate Bill 5049, which prevents police officers from searching a person or their vehicle due to cannabis smell, and Senate Bill 5013 which would allow Virginians to pay their $25 ticket for possessing…
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In Baltimore, an Unconstitutional Stop, a Blunt, Planted Cocaine, and an Unsolved Murder
A complaint filed against two Baltimore Police officers on behalf of the family of a Baltimore man describes an unconstitutional police stop that resulted in the discovery of a decriminalized amount of cannabis which quickly escalated into, lawyers allege, cops deleting evidence and planting drugs. The complaint goes on to detail how the man, Sherman…
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Ballot Initiative in Washington D.C. Pushes For Cannabis Industry in the District
Back in 2014, when Washington D.C. residents took to the voting booth to declare that indeed they wanted cannabis legal in the District (through home growing and the decriminalization of low-level possession), most didn’t think that a regulated cannabis industry, the messier second half of legalization, would be this far behind. Yet here D.C. is…