Tag Archives: marijuana

2022 Georgia Primary Ballot Advisory Questions: A Postscript

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  • Full list of questions
  • All statewide questions on both ballots received a large majority response, with only one question (Republican Question 5) receiving a “No” response.
  • I wrote Democratic Questions 4 and 8. I’m proud. I only wish a few more of my questions were added. Thanks to Scout Smith for lobbying the DPG for these questions and helping me narrow down my shortlist to 7.
  • I consider an advisory question to be controversial if majority response is 80% or less. Few questions on the ballot in the history of advisory questions in Georgia primaries have ever fallen under 80% majority response.
  • I’m getting ready for 2024.

Democratic Question 8

  • Coverage of Democratic Question 8: Marijuana Moment, Ganjapreneur, Cannabis Business Times
  • Democratic Question 8 (which I authored) had the most controversial reception on the Democratic ballot, despite all counties voting in favor.
  • Athens-Clarke’s Democrats had the most lopsided response to Democratic Question 8. Baker County had the worst response.
  • Clarke and Forsyth had extra marijuana legalization questions for some reason.
  • Democratic Question 8 is the most complete survey on support for marijuana legalization carried out so far. However, this only covers the Democratic side of the ballot.
    • In 2018, separate Republican questions for medical marijuana and decriminalized recreational access were asked in Harris, Pierce and Ware, with only medical questions being asked in Gordon, Walker and Whitfield. 
    • In 2020, Henry County Republicans asked a question on recreational legalization. This was the first to receive majority support from Republican voters, albeit much slimmer than on past Democratic ballots.
    • Past Democratic questions on legalization were offered in Cherokee (2014), Whitfield (2014), Glynn (2018), Forsyth (2018 and 2020), and Walton (2020), with a question on medical cannabis being asked in Richmond in 2014 and Catoosa in 2016.

Other Ballot Questions

  • Democratic Question 1, dealing with student loan debt forgiveness, was probably the second most controversial question on the Democratic ballot.
  • Democratic Question 4 shows support among the Democratic base for stronger direct democracy than what we currently have.
  • Republican Question 5, which was written exactly to elicit reactionary conservative disgust/hatred against transgender people, had the most lopsided response on the Republican ballot.
  • All of the other statewide Republican questions were garbage, and I would have wanted the opportunity to vote no on every single one of them on the same ballot as I voted yes to every single Democratic question. One can dream.
  • Many county-level questions dealt with local government and infrastructure questions.
  • Fulton and DeKalb’s Republican ballots both had anti-mask, anti-vaccine questions.
  • Carroll and Forsyth’s Democratic ballots had questions on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in education, while DeKalb’s Republican ballot had a question on CRT.
  • Jackson’s Democratic ballot had an anti-Confederate monument question.
  • Oconee County had the only jointly-shared questions on the primary ballot this cycle, with Republicans going out of their way to spell out in bold “This question was drafted by the Democrat party and is being included on this ballot at the request of the Oconee County Republican Party.” behind both joint questions on their ballot.
    • Rockdale held a joint question in 2012, as did Pickens in 2018.

What is, What Isn’t in the NDAA FY22

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The U.S. House passed an amended version of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 (“NDAA”) 363-70, with 51 Democrats and 19 Republicans voting against. This version, which authorized expenditures of around $770 billion, would remove key portions which were passed in a prior version passed by the House in November, and faces a Senate vote this week.

Sex and gender in the NDAA FY2022

In regards to sex and gender relations, the current version of the bill does the following:

  • encodes sexual assault into the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) as a crime for the first time
  • requires each military branch to establish an office to handle such crimes,
  • bans military commanders from making decisions about prosecutions in these and other “covered crimes”
  • directs DoD to track allegations of retaliation by victims of sexual assault and harassment, including demographic information on both the purported perpetrator and victim

To gain support from Republicans, Senate Democrats removed key provisions from the House’s earlier version of the NDAA FY2022, including provisions mandating the removal of language in the Selective Service Act only requiring men to register for Selective Service by the age of 18. While the NDAA had passed with bipartisan support in the House, several key Republican senators such as Josh Hawley of Missouri objected to this language on sexist grounds, while Rand Paul of Kentucky objected to the maintenance of the Selective Service System in its entirety.

Far-right Republican members of both houses objected to the bill for purported financial support of gender-affirming surgeries for transgender servicemembers, even though the bill did not include such language and merely failed to include a transphobic amendment banning such support. The bill also fails to codify President Biden’s re-integration of transgender servicemembers.

The provisions in regards to sexual assault and harassment have the support of DoD leadership.

Other provisions

The bill also includes:

  • the establishment of a “multi-year independent Afghanistan War Commission” to examine the beginning, procedure and U.S. withdrawal from the war over the last 20 years.
  • authorizing a 2.7% pay increase for servicemembers
  • authorizing DoD to provide a “basic needs allowance” for qualified low-income servicemembers who have experienced setbacks from the pandemic
  • establishes an “office, organizational structure, and provides authorities to address unidentified aerial phenomena,” aka UFOs
  • requires the President to develop a “Grand Strategy with Respect to China,” including assessments of Chinese activities in military, security, and foreign and economic relations in Central and South America
  • bans the U.S. military from buying equipment made by forced labor camps in Xinjiang Province (a provision added at the behest of Republican senator Marco Rubio)
  • reinforces U.S. policy against Chinese attempts to find a fait accompli against Taiwan

However, Senate Democrats removed a repeal of the 2002 Authorization to Use Military Force in Afghanistan from the most recent version. They also removed a provision legalizing marijuana banking, which was pushed by NJ Rep. Ed Perlmutter and passed the House.

Several House progressives voted against the bill due to the largesse of the funding to the military compared to the repeated cuts to the Build Back Better Act which has yet to pass the Senate.

Legalize Marijuana and Abolish Cash Bail for Nonviolent Offenders

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I read once that we’re living in the “justice reform era”. Marijuana legalization seems to be the landmark product of this era.

However, the news coming from post-legalization states is that, for its suspension of much of a local theatre of the long War on Drugs, the poor of color are not the biggest beneficiaries of this regime change.

What we do know, so far, is that white people, Latinos and homeowners are the biggest beneficiaries of marijuana legalization at the state level, especially in California. Black people who use weed while within or near their residence run a higher risk of offending the terms of their lease with their possession of weed, especially those who live in federally-funded housing.

So how do we mitigate the impact of “smoking weed while black”? One way is to abolish cash bail for those accused of nonviolent offenses, like using marijuana.

Imagine marijuana-legal California abolishing cash bail. Being the biggest state that would do so, those who are arrested for nonviolently offending the remaining state-level marijuana laws (among other laws) can be released quickly from jail on their own cognizance so that they don’t lose their jobs, homes, cars, or other life needs. Poor people of color, including those who use legal amounts of marijuana, would be major beneficiaries of abolishing cash bail and related pre-trial expenses.

Ending this financially-oppressive practice for all accused nonviolent offenders can make California a more economically-fair place to both live and use weed for poor people of color.

Maybe this can be encapsulated as a “pro-forgiveness” agenda, in which those who, by indirect way of an authority figure’s perception of a person’s unchangeable background or features, receive more disproportionate punishment for crimes or offenses which are committed at the same rate by all suspect classes can receive effective amnesty and expunging of their records.

With legal weed (in California as of this year), restrictions on civil asset forfeiture (already passed in California in 2016), the shifting of many felonies to misdemeanors (already passed) and cash bail abolition for nonviolent offenders (yet to be passed), we will see greater economic mobility for the poor of color.

I can’t wait to see both marijuana and cash bail reform happen in the same state.

Legalizing Weed Leaves the Glass Half-Full

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I think the states where initiatives and referendums are legal – most of which are out West – will see the greatest advancements against criminal justice abuses in the coming years.

I can’t see Georgia or most other Southern states legalizing recreational marijuana anytime soon. Florida could, since they almost did not long ago.

I’d say that legalizing marijuana and de-felonizing state drug laws is the great cross-racial, cross-religious, cross-class criminal justice struggle of the moment.

But even as more states out West legalize possession and regulate distribution, the racial disparity has persisted in Colorado and Washington with police now targeting predominately young Black/Latino male street dealers for felony distribution instead of possession. I expect a similar report from California in the near future now that weed is legal there.

If racial justice, economic justice and marijuana legalization can intersect anywhere, it’s at this location. Street sales need to be decriminalized, amnesty should be granted to past arrestees, taxes should be temporarily reduced to undercut the underground market, and arrestees should be provided job counseling.

I want to see 0 arrests for anything marijuana-related, 0 people denied jobs for anything​ marijuana-related, 0 people having to sell weed on the street to feed their family.

For a minute after Sessions announced his Drug War ramp-up, I was thinking that this would be a good time for us descendants of slaves to flee America.

Then I saw that this is targeted to federal prosecutors. Meanwhile, the sort of guidance he’s giving at the federal level is the statutory guidance given at the state level to put the majority of drug offenders in state prisons (both for and non-profit).

For the vast majority of drug offenders behind bars, I’m thinking that not much will change except for a more yawning dearth of federal help toward release or exhoneration.

We became silent about things that matter. That’s why we lost.

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The good news: Muscogee County went blue for Carter, Nunn and Bishop. Incumbent state reps Hugley (unopposed), Buckner (against a Republican challenger), and Smyre (unopposed) all won Muscogee, and no Democratic incumbents lost in the General Assembly.

The bad news: Only Bishop is going to federal office. None of the Democratic slate won statewide office. Roslund lost against McKoon for the state Senate. Wasn’t even close.

The post-mortem meeting for the Democrats in Columbus-Muscogee is on Saturday morning. Words will be traded. Fireworks may go off.

But I appreciate this month that I spent volunteering on the campaign with so many forward thinking, proactive people.

  • Patricia Lassiter, who spent months out of this year working campaigns, making and answering calls, taking crap from some fools and desperate activists, knocking on doors across Columbus to get the vote out – first for Mayor Tomlinson in May and second for the statewide Democratic slate of candidates. I personally admire Patricia’s personality, work ethic, ability to organize and progressive politics.
  • Mary-Kate Clement, who graduated from Marquette and flew from Chicago to Georgia to join Patricia in helping the county’s coordinated campaign. I stayed late in the office with Patricia and Mary-Kate on several nights when they had to get things wrapped up and called in. I am so sorry that she had to see her own home state go to a Republican governor (and Wisconsin, where she previously interned for Mary Burke, going back to Walker for another term). Her mother, who came by our office several times, is cool. Hope they do well in the future.
  • David Smith, spirited and knowledgeable 17-year-old who made phone calls and knocked on doors for the campaign. He is a party activist in the making.
  • William Viruet, native New Yorker who GOTV’s on a very down-to-earth level and does a mean massage.
  • All of the people – of all ages, even slightly underage – who gave their time and energy to this campaign – Berlinda, Tom, both Bills from the UU Fellowship of Columbus, Charlotte, LaVon, Marlyne, Alice, Eddie (Mr. “Souls to the Polls”), James, and several others. You all did the great work for a Blue Muscogee.

But now I am furious, and the colleagues who I met over this month know how furious I am with what just happened.

The Democrats lost across this country. Low turnout happened in several states, and yet it was not for a lack of African-American voters. Older voters, as usual, turned out more for the vote than younger voters.

And yet, progressive legislations won on the ballot at the SAME DAMN TIME. Across the country!

  • Minimum wage increases passed by voters in Arkansas, Nebraska, Illinois (advisory), Alaska and South Dakota
  • Marijuana possession decriminalized by voters in Oregon, Alaska and Washington, D.C., while Florida gained 57% in favor but not the 60% necessary for passage. 6 Michigan municipalities’ voters passed similar measures.
  • California voters passing the reduction of dozens of nonviolent property and drug crimes from felonies to misdemeanors, resulting in potential thousands leaving California’s prisons.
  • A severe anti-choice “personhood” amendment being defeated in Colorado and North Dakota.
  • A fracking ban being passed in Denton, Texas and Athens, Ohio.
  • Dallas voters retain SOGI-inclusive NDO for city workers
  • Washington voters backed a criminal background check on all guns.

And I’m not the only one who noticed this. The Nation noticed this contradiction of voters supporting progressive legislation and voting for regressive candidates in the same election, so did Ring of Fire Radio. And I wonder “WTF just happened?”

And I’ve learned so much from reading articles about how populism won at the local and state levels, even as the GOP expanded their reach in many state legislatures.

A few words to the Democrats and to progressives all over Georgia, especially the state leadership in Georgia.

  • Stop being cowards on our principles. Stop apologizing.
  • Support our president and Obamacare.
  • If party leaders are cowards, throw them out. They are bums.
  • Shut up about money. No seriously, DNC/DSCC/DCCC/DGA/DLCC, stop sending me emails asking for contributions to the party’s war chest every damn day. I’m sick of being begged by career party activists for money when they don’t pull their weight.
  • Embrace your constituencies like your life depended on it.
  • Campaign on economic justice like your life depended on it.
  • Meet more often, like the party is your second, more secular church.
  • Don’t be afraid to remove those who don’t adhere to progressive principles.
  • If you can’t throw out the bums, do everything to make their political lives difficult.
  • Primary those who won’t carry their weight or have gotten too soft in their seats.
  • Campaign on issues. Not party, not personality, not demographics. ISSUES. Hear the issues, speak the issues, vote on the issues, poll the issues, build alliances around the issues, raise money on issues, publicize the issues, saturate local media with issues, recruit and test your candidates on the issues.
  • Do NOT disrespect progressive activists who are doing the work if you’re not doing it yourself. Or else you will get ripped a new butthole, in public, by me.

I have more to say, but all in all, let’s up off of our asses and campaign as progressives, not the “NON-REPUBLICANS”.

As MLK said, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter“. The voters cared about issues. We didn’t. We need to care about issues, to push them by whatever means necessary, and to embrace those who care about them, like our President. We need to care about the compassion of our government, and we must say it every time we get. Or else, there is nothing progressive about us.

#YesWeCan