#LegalizeIt. Tax. Regulate. Reinvest.

"Turning a blind eye to this issue is no longer an option. It is time for a legal system to regulate and tax cannabis."

- North Carolina Senator Graig Meyer 

All over North Carolina, Black and brown users of [cannabis] are being arrested and convicted at over twice the rate of their white counterparts.

It’s time for a change. Whether you care about safety in your community, honestly dealing with abuse and addiction, racial justice reform, or raising tax revenue, cannabis prohibition—which has always been rooted more in racism than in concerns over public health—is outdated and must end. Read more at Indy Week.

Getting cannabis policy right requires good policy on growth, processing, distribution, taxation, regulation, and enforcement. That’s a complex challenge. 

That’s why I have introduced S. 346, the Marijuana Justice and Reinvestment Act. The “North Carolina way” on legalization would: 

• Use tax revenue from legal cannabis sales to reinvest in communities harmed the most by the war on drugs;
• Ensure North Carolinians and not large multinational corporations benefit from this new industry;
• Institute a distribution system similar to the state’s ABC liquor system to ensure a tightly controlled cannabis product pipeline;
• Support robust public health efforts to reduce youth consumption and other risks. Simply put, cannabis should be legalized but not glamorized.

There is always fear around doing something new. Now is the time to stop the harms of criminalization. 

IT’S TIME FOR SENSIBLE CANNABIS POLICY.

Read More:

Read the North Carolina Department of Justice’s Task Force Report for Racial Equity. 

Read the North Carolina Sentencing and Policy Advisory Commission’s Report on Marijuana Convictions and Race.