Roommates, the election is extremely close right now, but that’s not that only place that our country is hoping to make major changes. As a nation, there is reportedly a push to relax marijuana and other drug laws, and it looks like New Jersey and Oregon are the latest states to do so.
According to CBS news, New Jersey voted in favor of legalizing recreational marijuana on Tuesday, with more than two-thirds of voters in favor of the change, and Oregon took a major step by decriminalizing possession of small amounts of hard drugs like cocaine and heroin.
In New Jersey, the initiative is reportedly an attempt to decrease the amount of Black and Latino people that are arrested for possession of marijuana, and Oregon plans to create treatment centers for people caught with small amounts of hard drugs.
People arrested with small amounts of the drugs would not have to go to trial or spend time in jail. Instead, the offender would have to pay a $100 fine and attend an addiction recovery program. The treatment centers will reportedly be funded by money from legalized marijuana within the state.
“Today’s victory is a landmark declaration that the time has come to stop criminalizing people for drug use,” said Kassandra Frederique, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance.
The United States has been making many radical moves toward correcting the issue of racial injustice, where minorities are arrested in disproportionate numbers compared to white people. As we previously reported, the Los Angeles county DA, Jackie Lacey, has dismissed almost &0,000 marijuana cases dating back to 1961.
How do y’all feel about these new laws, Roomies? Let us know in the comments!
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