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North Carolina -- October 9, 2022: It's time to "remove the stigma," the governor of North Carolina declared, and announced actions he's taken to investigate his options for independently
offering relief to those with prior convictions. The governor is formally supporting marijuana decriminalization in the state.
On Friday, during a meeting of a criminal justice task force that he established in 2020, Governor Roy Cooper (D) discussed the policy. The governor is now publicly embracing decriminalization for the first time since the panel's final recommendation.
Cooper brought up the subject in response to President Joe Biden's unexpected Thursday decision to pardon those convicted of federal marijuana possession convictions and to urge governors throughout the country to enact comparable state-level legislation.
"This task force has already met this issue head-on by recommending…that simple possession of a small amount of marijuana should not be a crime,” he said. “Law enforcement and the criminal justice system are under-resourced right now, and they should be focused on stopping violent crime, drug trafficking and other threats to safe communities.”
“We also know that a conviction of simple possession can mar people’s records for life and maybe even prevent them from getting a job,” Cooper said. He added that while the legislature declined to act on the panel’s reform recommendation last session, “I believe they should.”
“North Carolina should take steps to end this stigma,” he said. “I’ve also asked our lawyers to examine North Carolina law regarding simple possession of marijuana convictions and pardons to determine if there is action we can and should take.”
WNCTIMES by Marjorie Farrington
