O'Rourke proposes to end prohibition of marijuana and expunge arrest records of those incarcerated for possessing it, end cash bail, end mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent offenses, eliminate private and for-profit prisons, ensure the formerly incarcerated have a path to reenter our communities.
O'Rourke proposes to reduce all felony drug possession convictions to misdemeanors and apply this retroactively to those who have already suffered unjustly. These actions will save lives now needlessly lost to incarceration, and billions of dollars that can be reinvested into rehabilitative alternatives.
O'Rourke calls for abolishing private and for-profit prisons, ending the war on drugs, ending mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent drug offenses, reforming the bail process, and providing meaningful reentry to reduce recidivism – rehab services, counseling, banning the box on job applications, and returning the vote.
“We need to not only end the prohibition on marijuana, but also repair the damage done to the communities of color disproportionately locked up in our criminal justice system or locked out of opportunity because of the War on Drugs,” O’Rourke said in a press release. “These inequalities have compounded for decades, as predominantly white communities have been given the vast majority of lucrative business opportunities, while communities of color still face over-policing and criminalization. It’s our responsibility to begin to remedy the injustices of the past and help the people and communities most impacted by this misguided war.”
O’Rourke Unveils a Plan to Legalize Marijuana, End War on Drugs
The Hill | September 19 2019 | Chris Mills Rodrigo
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