Today, I am thinking about Kevin Allen who is currently serving life in prison for selling $20 worth of marijuana in Louisiana. Marijuana is now legal for medical use in Louisiana. So, why is Kevin Allen still in jail?
Today, I am thinking about Rudi Gammo who is serving five and a half years for operating a Detroit-sanctioned medical dispensary. The father of three is currently incarcerated while marijuana sale in Michigan has become a multibillion-dollar industry.
Today, I am thinking about thousands of people who are arrested for marijuana in this country every year. Today, I am thinking about myself. I spent 25 years in prison for selling three pounds of marijuana. I was not supposed to get out of prison until 2038. I would have spent six decades behind bars; six decades lost with my family.
I had a lot of help and support from many people—an entire community and movement helped me get out. But I left a lot of people behind in prison. I can still hear their voices. They do not have the support that I had.
Even now 25 years later, the main question on my mind is: who has marijuana really harmed? From where I’m standing, it seems to have overwhelmingly harmed people who look like me and come from backgrounds like mine.
On Oct. 6, 2022, President Biden announced a marijuana pardon for people convicted of federal marijuana possession. However, since no one in federal prison is serving sentences for only marijuana possession, zero people will actually be freed. Just the same, this pardon will not do anything for the thousands in city jails, county jails, or state penitentiaries. Those incarcerated on these local levels are not benefiting from this pardon.
This pardon was a grand claim, but as you look closer, you realize the reality I have known for a while: The system is rigged.
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