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XPost: alt.politics.usa.republican, alt.politics.socialism.democratic, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh
From: leroysoetoro@barackobama.com

https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/446419-marijuana-advocates-hit- unexpected-roadblocks

Advocates of legalizing marijuana for recreational purposes scored their
most significant legislative victory of the year Friday when the Illinois
state House gave final approval to a measure allowing residents over the
age of 21 to purchase and use cannabis products.

But their win in Springfield comes at the end of a string of defeats in
what was supposed to be a banner year for legalization. Even supporters of recreational use acknowledge their legislative agenda has run into more roadblocks than they expected.

Legislators in New Jersey, Connecticut and New Mexico hit the brakes on legalization bills this year, even though Democratic governors in all
three states made clear their support. A New Hampshire bill stalled in the state Senate when it became apparent the legislature did not have the
votes to override a likely veto from Gov. Chris Sununu (R).

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's (D) effort to legalize recreational use
through his state budget stalled, though the legislature is considering a separate bill.

"Some progress has happened slower than we would have liked, of course,"
said Karen O'Keefe, director of state policies at the Marijuana Policy
Project, a pro-legalization group.

Opposition groups have mounted surprisingly strong campaigns against legalization bills, in many states led by minority legislators who worry
that increased access to marijuana will disproportionately impact their communities. Black caucuses in New Jersey and Connecticut have emerged as fulcrum points in the debate over legalization.

"These communities in many ways across the country are marginalized, but
when it comes to this specific policy issue they have a major say," said
Luke Niforatos, a senior policy advisor at Smart Approaches to Marijuana,
an anti-legalization group.

At the same time, those minority groups say their communities are not
profiting from the booming marijuana industry, which remains
overwhelmingly white.

"For big tobacco and big marijuana, black addiction is a big-money
hustle," said Rev. Gregory Seal Livingston, a civil rights advocate who
opposed the Illinois legislation. "It is not a business opportunity for
blacks and other minorities because blacks and other minorities are the target."

Proponents have said that legalization would help mitigate the disparities
of the war on drugs, which fell hardest on communities of color. A black
man is almost four times as likely to be arrested for marijuana possession
as a white man, according to an ACLU study, though usage rates are
virtually the same across racial groups.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) "has repeatedly said that he believes legalization of adult-use marijuana is critical to eliminating disparities
in the criminal justice system. "Each week that marijuana remains illegal, approximately 600 people in New Jersey will be arrested for low-level drug crimes, with the majority of those being people of color," Alyana Alfaro,
a Murphy spokesperson, said in an email.

States that have already legalized marijuana have made efforts to increase
the number of minority-owned businesses in the nascent industry, to mixed results. California's legislature approved $10 million to help low-income
and minority-owned businesses open pot shops. Massachusetts prioritized minority-owned businesses as it began distributing licensees after voters
there approved a legalization ballot measure.

Maryland is working on plans to award new marijuana cultivation licenses
to minority-owned businesses, though some of the firms that own the 15
existing licenses have sued to stop the expansion plans.

"There was hope that passing legalization would help with all the
inequalities that have plagued the drug war," O'Keefe said. "A lot of
people, including us, have been disappointed that there hasn’t been as
much diversity in the industry as there could be."

Legalization opponents publicly support some efforts to end elements of
the war on drugs, even if they don't support recreational use. North
Dakota and New Mexico this year became the latest states to decriminalize marijuana possession, an approach those legalization opponents say more adequately addresses the root problem.

"If we’re having concerns about incarceration, let’s look directly at incarceration and decriminalization and expungement," Niforatos said. "It
is a way to precisely address the concerns of these communities that are disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs."

Marijuana backers have had some success around the margins this year.
Iowa's Republican-led legislature approved an expansion of low-grade
medical cannabis, though Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) vetoed the bill. Georgia legislators approved a measure to allow in-state cultivation of medical marijuana. Legislators in Guam this year legalized marijuana for
recreational use, the second U.S. territory to do so after the Northern Marianas Islands.

And the Illinois bill is significant: If Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) signs it
as expected, Illinois would become the first state to legalize
recreational sales of marijuana through its state legislature, rather than through a ballot measure approved by citizens.

Vermont's legislature approved the use, though not the sale, of
recreational marijuana in 2018, in a compromise between the Democratic legislature and Gov. Phil Scott, a Republican.

The disappointing year for marijuana backers is only a prelude to what is expected to be a series of difficult fights in 2020. Legalization
proponents will try again in states like New York, New Jersey and
Connecticut, and ballot measures are likely in states like Florida,
Arizona and Ohio, three states where earlier efforts fell short.

"I wouldn’t bet my life that they will succeed next year. Sometimes
progress is a little slower than you’d hope," O'Keefe said. "I’m almost
certain there will be more states that legalize next year."


--
No collusion - Special Counsel Robert Swan Mueller III, March 2019.

Donald J. Trump, 304 electoral votes to 227, defeated compulsive liar in
denial Hillary Rodham Clinton on December 19th, 2016. The clown car
parade of the democrat party ran out of gas and got run over by a Trump
truck.

Congratulations President Trump. Thank you for cleaning up the disaster
of the Obama presidency.

The Obama-led Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) approved Uranium One in fall 2010. With a little luck, we'll see
compulsive liar Hillary Clinton in jail before she dies.

Under Barack Obama's leadership, the United States of America became the
The World According To Garp.

Obama increased total debt from $10 trillion to $20 trillion in the eight
years he was in office, and sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood queer
liberal democrat donors.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: www.darkrealms.ca (1:229/2)