FRIDAY @ 11 AM: In the Know 420 with Joseph Bondy
Today, on In the Know 420 with Jake and Joe, we sit down the Lauren Rudick, David Holland, Michael Hiller and our very own Joe Bondy, who are suing Jeff Sessions and the federal government for the Schedule I classification of cannabis on the grounds that it is unconstitutional.
Who do they represent?
Businesses that cover large parts of the industry, medical refugees, and people who directly been harmed by the drug war. Rudick talks about meeting cannabis refugee families who have uprooted their entire lives to gain access to medical cannabis without the dangers of the illicit market/law enforcement.
“You don’t need advocacy groups if everyone is treated fairly”
The Controlled Substances Act has been used violate constitutional law and permitted harsh carceral consequences for users of cannabis. The federal government has put itself in a questionable position by criminalizing cannabis whilst owning the medical patent to cannabis.
Medical research has shown that cannabis shouldn’t qualify as a Schedule 1 Drug. There are 5 clauses of the lawsuit that factor into why the scheduling of cannabis as non medical is nonsensical. Cannabis can only be tested in order to yield negative conclusions.
The Nixon Administration created the CSA during 1970s with the intention of criminalizing marginalized groups that were using cannabis which where African Americans and anti-war protesters. People who use medical cannabis are not allowed to travel onto federal areas.
POC are 4x likely to be charged with crimes involved with controlled substances. Congress can only regulate state economy only is it influences and affects the rest of the country. Studies show that medical cannabis show greater benefits in quality of life for people with cancer or diseases like epilepsy.
Legalizing cannabis have great benefits for the state economy looking at states like California and Colorado, which now have revenue streams in the millions of dollars.
TOP QUOTES
“Cannabis hasn’t always been treated like a bad thing. It has been racially demonized by people who want to keep people of color down and out of the population and locked up.
People are still living in prison with double life sentences and people forget about the lives that have been ruined by these laws. If laws are going to be changed, lives need to be changed. “ -David Holland
“This case encourages people to learn their history on cannabis policy. Without acknowledging our past, we cannot fully understand the direction we are moving.” -Lauren Rudick
“This is about the People” This is a human rights issues. The War On Drugs has been hell for POC.
Things like housing, education, and many opportunities have been stripped from people for amounts as low as a few grams of cannabis. That has to change.
This suit ultimately brings together a coalition of people from various walks of life for this unitary cause of changing laws that have broken apart communities and families for far too long.” - Jake Plowden
