Following President Biden’s recent pardon of thousands who were convicted of possessing small amounts of marijuana under federal law, Democratic North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper and his attorney general are pushing the GOP-led state legislature to decriminalize the offense.
Cooper told a task force meeting on racial equity and criminal justice on Friday, “Conviction of simple possession can mar people’s records for life and maybe even prevent them from getting a job.” Although the General Assembly did not act on your recommendations during the last session, I still think North Carolina should take action to eliminate this prejudice.
With riots occurring across the country after George Floyd’s death, the governor formed the task force in June 2020.
In their 2020 report, the 24-person panel of law enforcement officers, attorneys, civil rights advocates, and state officials in North Carolina recommended making possession of up to 1.5 ounces of marijuana a noncriminal infraction on par with a traffic ticket. The Republican-controlled legislature in North Carolina did not follow the task force’s advice.
The current law in North Carolina states that possessing more than 0.5 ounces of marijuana is punishable by up to 45 days in jail and up to $1,000 in fines, with no exceptions for medical use. More than 1.5 ounces is considered a felony amount.
Josh Stein, the state’s attorney general, agreed with the governor.
A federal criminal record “should not exist for something that is legal in an increasing number of states,” Stein said last Thursday. To paraphrase, “Let’s act and let’s get it right” means things like “let’s decriminalize adult use, expunge past convictions for simple possession, and include strong protections for kids, no advertising, state-controlled sales, and putting N.C. farmers first.”
Cooper, who is barred from running for re-election in 2024 due to term limits, said he had asked lawyers to review state law to determine whether or not North Carolina can and should take further action to pardon such marijuana-based convictions. The Constitution of North Carolina grants the governor extensive pardoning authority.
Biden has called on governors to pardon those convicted of state marijuana offenses, which make up the vast majority of possession cases, following his pardon of thousands of Americans facing federal marijuana possession charges last week. He conceded the disproportionate impact of drug charges on people of color.
No one should go to jail “just for using or possessing marijuana,” Biden said during his presidential campaign. Too many lives have been upended, and too many people have been incarcerated for behavior that is no longer illegal in many states because of the policy of sending people to prison for possessing marijuana.
According to the White House, no one is currently incarcerated in the United States for “simple possession” of the drug; however, the president hopes that his pardon will help thousands of people overcome potential barriers to securing housing or employment. A conviction for distribution-level marijuana possession was not eligible for his pardon.