Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon today announced that his office has identified nearly 60,000 cannabis convictions, some going back three decades, that will be dismissed as part of what he calls an effort “to reverse the injustices of drug laws.”
U.S. Senator Kamala D. Harris (D-CA) and U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY-14) on Wednesday introduced the Fair Chance at Housing Act of 2019, legislation to remove barriers to obtaining federal housing assistance for individuals with criminal records and their families. The proposal is a comprehensive reform of the eviction and screening policies so individuals with a criminal history have a fair chance at housing assistance.
Late yesterday, Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. signed Senate Bill 1294, the California Cannabis Equity Act, authored by Senator Steven Bradford (D-Gardena). This groundbreaking bill, aimed at reversing some of the damaging impacts cannabis prohibition has had on individuals from disadvantaged communities, is the first social equity cannabis measure in the Unites States.
A new report by the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) says the time is ripe to change drug laws.