Although Massachusetts legalized marijuana over five years ago, life has not automatically been better for several people who are or were imprisoned for criminal charges related to marijuana.
People probably wonder why it is important for marijuana users and possessors to not be treated like criminals. One reason is that using marijuana is less dangerous than drinking alcohol. A report published by the American Psychological Association shows that high usage of alcohol has more negative health and behavioral consequences than the sole usage of marijuana.
Marijuana consumption is also not a serious threat to the lives of other people. When someone consumes marijuana, their actions are only affecting themself. The “crime” of using cannabis is not comparable to homicide or sexual assault, which both endanger other people and/or negatively alter the course of their lives.
Legalizing marijuana causes change in the justice system to an extent, or in other words, it has its limits. While people over the age of 21 can consume the substance without criminal charges, anyone who was charged before legalization lives their life as a de facto (ex-)convict. An article from the Boston Globe in November 2021 highlights that very few people get their criminal records for marijuana charges cleared.
The slow progress of expunging cannabis-related criminal charges devastatingly impacts Black people and therefore does not restore justice to them. According to the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission, “Black and Hispanic or Latino cohorts are arrested for drug offenses at higher rates than White cohorts.” The commission also found that Black people live in areas with the most disproportionate impact from the War on Drugs. The neighborhoods in Boston include Roxbury, Dorchester and Mattapan while the list of other cities includes Worcester and Springfield, Massachusetts.
Senator Adam Gomez, the first Afro-Puerto Rican state senator in Massachusetts, grew up in Springfield and now represents the west part of the city and Chicopee, Massachusetts. At the age of 17, he was charged as an adult for possessing marijuana and entered a plea bargain to avoid imprisonment. However, Gomez claims the stigma of possession never went away.
Unfortunately, many others are not as lucky because of the limited opportunities for formerly imprisoned people. A report by the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission cites a New York-based study from 2009 that found Black people with criminal records were the least likely to be invited for job interviews. Even after laws prevented employers from asking potential hires about criminal records, a 2017 study found that younger Black (and Latino) men were the least likely to be invited for job interviews.
People need a decriminalization process that actually gets the job done, not one that is ineffective. An issue with the expungement system is that the people must now find information about the process of clearing those cannabis-related records. Typically, citizens need the guidance of the government to make requests, such as expungement, and might delay their progress due to confusion if they navigate it by themselves.
Also, the expungement process is not effective because there are so many levels of approval to get through. The applicant’s petition for a court hearing must be given to the court that handled their case. Then, it is up to the judge to allow the hearing to proceed, based on whether the expungement is in the “best interests of justice” or not. If the expungement order is accepted, the court has to send it to the clerk who created the record, the commissioners of probation and criminal justice information services, the clerk’s office and criminal justice agencies.
People who went to or are in prison for marijuana-related offenses would receive justice if the expungement process underwent some changes. Bill S.1048 is a petition by Senator Gomez and Senator Joanne M. Comerford that calls for the clearing of marijuana records without a court hearing and the release of prisoners currently serving time for cannabis charges. The bill indicates that Massachusetts is capable of enacting justice on a more efficient scale.
Automatically expunging marijuana charges would make the city of Boston a better place to live for Black people. 54% of Black respondents claimed Boston is an unwelcoming city for people of color in a 2017 survey the Boston Globe shared. Additionally, Black people’s median net worth in the greater Boston area is $8, which is most likely a result of old cannabis charges on people’s records and other manifestations of systemic racism.
If Boston wants to be the beacon of liberalism on the east coast, it has a lot of structural inequality to dismantle. Expunging marijuana from people’s criminal records is not the only task and it would not solely affect Black people. But, it is a huge step in removing barriers to work and shelter for members of the Black community, so it would help increase their quality of life.
Comments