Raleigh, N.C. — A panel appointed by Gov. Roy Cooper called Wednesday for decriminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana, saying arrests for such crimes disproportionately affect Black residents.
The North Carolina Task Force for Racial Equity in Criminal Justice, which is chaired by Attorney General Josh Stein and Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls, also called for studying the prospect of further legalizing the cultivation, sale and possession of marijuana in the state.
“You cannot talk about improving racial equity in our criminal justice system without talking about marijuana,” Stein said in a statement. “White and Black North Carolinians use marijuana at similar rates, yet Black people are disproportionately arrested and sentenced.”
Possession of up to a half-ounce of marijuana is a Class 3 misdemeanor in North Carolina, subject to a fine…
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