U.S : SESSIONS is recruiting soldiers for his war on drugs.

We can stop Sessions' newest attempt to 

continue the War on Drugs--but we must act 

fast.  

Tell the Senate Judiciary Committee: Reject

 Sessions' U.S. Attorney nominees--unless they 

protect states' rights.

Dear friend,

Sessions just appointed a gang of federal prosecutors--and they’re targeting states where marijuana has been legalized.

This is a new era of the war on drugs. Black people have been here before. We’ve seen how the war on drugs has devastated our families and wasted community resources.¹ Black folks have led the way in marijuana decriminalization and reparations efforts for those historically targeted by this war.² Sessions’ agenda threatens every hard fought gain and promises even more violence.³

U.S. Attorneys will play the most crucial role in deciding, case by case, whether or not to press charges in states with medicinal and decriminalized marijuana--and some of Sessions’ appointees are staunchly anti-marijuana. But here’s the good news : a lot of them haven’t been confirmed for the job yet. Right now, many of Sessions’ appointees are up for Senate confirmation and many more will be due in the coming months. But first, they have to make it through the Senate Judiciary Committee. If the Judiciary Committee only recommends nominees who commit to protecting the rights of states that legalized marijuana, we can throw a wrench in Session’s efforts to continue the war on drugs.

Tell the Senate Judiciary Committee to ask the hard questions and reject all nominees for U.S. Attorney who will seek to continue the war on drugs.

Trump and Sessions have made their anti-Black agenda clear since the early days of their administration.⁴Recently, Sessions rescinded Obama-era guidance for federal prosecutors which aimed to shield states where marijuana is legalized or classified medicinal.⁵ But even when marijuana was legalized in many states, we still saw Black-owned marijuana businesses targeted while others flourished.⁶ This new memo from Sessions further empowers prosecutors to charge lawful marijuana businesses and places all Black people at risk of harassment and incarceration through racial profiling and increased police contact.⁷ A prior Sessions memo advised prosecutors to pursue the harshest possible drug charges at every opportunity.⁸ This administration is blatantly ignoring evidence-based approaches and relying on stereotypes and flat out lies about the “rising tide of violent crime” in the “inner cities” to rebuild a federal law enforcement infrastructure that targets Black people.⁹

California legalized marijuana just days before Sessions made this announcement. So, what will happen to efforts like the Equity Permit Program in Oakland ? Recognizing that Black people have been negatively and disproportionately impacted by disparate enforcement of cannabis laws, the Oakland City Council unanimously approved this new initiative to grant 50 percent of all new marijuana business licenses to survivors of the war on drugs and residents of six neighborhoods that police have excessively targeted for drug arrests. This program is in its infancy stage and all applicants will be at high risk of being targeted by Sessions’ new soldiers for the war on drugs.

Tell the Senate Judiciary Committee: Protect initiatives like the Equity Permit Program by demanding transparency from nominees.

Here’s why we must act right now : the Judiciary Committee is supposed to review and report on these nominations and the entire Senate body is responsible for confirmations. Sessions has exploited a procedural loophole to bypass Senate confirmation for chief federal prosecutors. This has allowed him to directly, but temporarily, appoint the soldiers of his own choosing for his war on drugs.¹⁰ Some of these appointees have a history of prosecuting marijuana cases during Bush’s administration and the war on drugs.¹¹ And we can expect more of the same once confirmed in their new role.

We must oppose their efforts at every step and call on the Senate Judiciary Committee to reject all nominees for U.S. Attorney who plan to comply with Sessions' directive. We will oppose and reject Sessions’ war on drugs. Black folks will continue to innovate alternatives to incarceration and defend them. Because we are not just fighting for our survival, but for our right to thrive.

Join the fight back. We must take action now to defend our communities.

Until justice is real,

Clarise, Rashad, Arisha, Scott, Enchanta, Anay, Malaya, Katrese, Kristen, Marena, Marybeth, Tamar, Lorran, and the rest of the Color Of Change team

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References :

1. “The Drug War, Mass Incarceration and Race.” Drug Policy Alliance, February 2016.https://act.colorofchange.org/go/15015?t=9&akid=8987%2E1942551%2ErOuApk
2. “Oakland Gives Weed Convicts Opportunity To Open Marijuana Businesses As Reparations.” Vibe, 30 July 2017.https://act.colorofchange.org/go/15016?t=11&akid=8987%2E1942551%2ErOuApk
3. “Trump administration Lifts Limits On Military Hardware For Police.” National Public Radio, 28 August 2018.https://act.colorofchange.org/go/15017?t=13&akid=8987%2E1942551%2ErOuApk
4. “In executive actions, President Trump vows crackdown on violent crime. Is America as unsafe as he thinks?” Washington Post, 9 February 2017. https://act.colorofchange.org/go/15018?t=15&akid=8987%2E1942551%2ErOuApk
5. “Sessions announces end to policy that allowed legal pot to flourish.” Politico, 4 January 2018.https://act.colorofchange.org/go/15019?t=17&akid=8987%2E1942551%2ErOuApk
6. “Pot entrepreneur and ex-felon fights for black role in California's budding industry.” The Guardian, 15 January 2018.https://act.colorofchange.org/go/15020?t=20&akid=8987%2E1942551%2ErOuApk
7. “The War on Marijuana in Black and White.” ACLU, June 2013. https://act.colorofchange.org/go/15021?t=22&akid=8987%2E1942551%2ErOuApk
8. “The 5 Scariest Things About Jeff Sessions's New War on Drugs.” CityLab, 12 May 2017.https://act.colorofchange.org/go/15022?t=24&akid=8987%2E1942551%2ErOuApk
9. “AG Jeff Sessions relaunches Bush era crime-fighting plan.” Chicago Sun Times, 5 October 2017.https://act.colorofchange.org/go/15023?t=26&akid=8987%2E1942551%2ErOuApk
10. “Sessions names 17 interim U.S. attorneys, including in premier Manhattan office.” Washington Post, 3 January 2018.https://act.colorofchange.org/go/15024?t=28&akid=8987%2E1942551%2ErOuApk
11. “A look at prosecutors who will decide on marijuana crackdown.” NewsOk, 5 January 2018.https://act.colorofchange.org/go/15025?t=30&akid=8987%2E1942551%2ErOuApk

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Color Of Change is building a movement to elevate the voices of Black folks and our allies, and win real social and political change. Help keep our movement strong.