First Annotation A.B

“What Cannabis Decriminalization Really Means”, Huff Post, April 10th 2021,  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRSiO4TYwZs

     In this video it mentions the recent bill that Governor Coumo signed making it legal for marijuana to be used recreationally. It was said that cannabis offenses in New York were specifically targeted in minority and marginalized communities. Melissa Moore who is an New York State director claimed it was never about the cannabis plant being illegal but using it as a prohibition tool to target communities. This video claims there have been over eight hundred thousand arrests made for low level cannabis offenses; majority of the arrests being latino and black New Yorkers. Even though cannabis use is at about the same rate within each race group. But time and time again the communities that get more attention are the low income communities and communities where people of color are the majority. Melissa Moore goes into detail about how the smallest offense can withhold a person from a lot of resources such as education, housing, loans, and employment. These sources does not usually get stripped for other worse offenses such as drunk driving and sexual assault. However, the new legislation is designed to help the communities that criminalization affects. Communities hardest hit by criminalization from  marijuana offenses will receive forty percent of revenue made by programs to rebuild and educate their community. People with prior marijuana convictions will have them expunged from their record in the near future. Further allowing them access to resources that they could not have before. The bill promises to deliver future cannabis business licenses to fifty percent of citizens as a social equity license. Which means a person who is or from a community that was affected by disproportionate criminalization. This video explains how the communities will educate the youth and citizens about cannabis instead of representing it in a negative way. This video helped me further understand the bill and educated me about what is to come in the future. Before this video I thought the bill will do nothing to help those affected by marijuanna convictions but now I realized they have been taken into account. Melissa Moore did a great job on giving examples when she had made a claim to further give the viewer an understanding of what has been going on in our justice system. Melissa Moore has fifteen years of experience focused on criminal justice reform, community led international development and resource rights. Her knowledge on marijuanna convictions and plans to further solve the issue is highly credible. Her style is to educate New Yorkers about what is going on and how we can benefit from it.