[420 Girl]

In response to some of the recent editorials presented regarding Question 2 and the Cannabis Reform Coalition (CRC), I think it's important to challenge the problematic - and frankly, offensive - insinuations.

The first challenge is in regards to commentary that the CRC and others working for drug reform are only interested in smoking pot, huffing dread wax and buying $40 drug rugs at Trade Roots. Most insidiously, it's important to challenge remarks claiming that decriminalization - and drug law reform in general - is somehow "not important" or a "non-issue" with little effect on the larger political climate.

Despite the scathingly clever and intellectually consistent social commentary in which the writers seem to simultaneously support and detest our ability to energize and activate the student populace, marijuana decriminalization is a much larger issue than just marijuana. It is also coincidently much larger than just this campus and this state on Nov. 4.

Marijuana decriminalization is, in fact, a social justice issue. It's the largest contributor to arrests in the nationwide - and increasingly globalized - war on drugs.

It's a war - like the War on Terror - which is, by nature, unwinnable and unaccountable to its stated goals of "eradicating drug use." Marijuana prohibition is an issue stretching much greater than its stated intent. In fact, it provides excellent insight into a variety of intersecting social problems in our criminal justice system.

According to Massachusetts' Drug Policy Alliance (Drugpolicy.org), 50 percent of the prison population consists of people of color. This is not because people of color do drugs at a higher frequency than whites. Instead, it's because of disparities in arrests, booking, access to lawyers and sentencing. People of color are incarcerated at a far higher level than whites who have committed similar crimes.

This is true across the country. Minorities and low-income individuals are particularly at a disadvantage when it comes to crime and punishment - contributing to the stereotype that "all (fill in the blank minority) are dangerous criminals."
Not only that, but felons are not allowed to vote, which means a large percentage of potential minority voters are deliberately silenced. In this case, individuals¬ - many of whom are young - can reasonably say that "my vote doesn't count."

Under current state law, being simply convicted of possessing a single joint can create a stain on one's record - specifically, the CORI criminal background report - which bars that individual from access to financial aid, public housing, adopting children, serving as a foster parent and can make that individual lose or be prevented from obtaining employment.

By imposing such draconian punishments on simple possession, punishments are statistically unevenly distributed according to race and class. We are, in fact, ensuring that these "criminals" - only such because possession is defined as a crime - have no options but to continue to be criminals. If they can't get a legitimate job or state assistance for housing and are already at a disadvantage economically or socially, why wouldn't they try to make money as a drug dealer?

This is how the war on drugs mistakenly justifies itself - by calling people criminals. This makes it legitimate to continue to fight the crime they've invented no matter how many millions of dollars or individual liberties are wasted along the way. Decriminalization, though it still labels the act of smoking or possessing up to one ounce a crime, would effectively deprioritize marijuana to a lesser crime on the totem pole - not to mention one which will not eliminate access to social programs and civil rights.

Inevitably, if we and other states continue to speak our mind about marijuana reform and drug war reform in general, we can make it possible to enact a legitimately sensible drug policy which does not oppress and impoverish communities and individuals in the name of a "war" we simply cannot win.

On a related note, to somehow also insinuate that the CRC is made up of apolitical stoners whose only causes are scrounging up the next blunt or bag of chips is an offensive, low-brow stereotyped attack. Notwithstanding, the fact is we actually have an unusually diverse spectrum of political views and beliefs within our rapidly expanding ranks.

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