Anti-Pot Zealot Rep. Pete Sessions (TX) compares the marijuana industry to modern day slavery

On Tuesday morning, Texas Republican Rep. Pete Sessions bluntly compared the cannabis industry to slavery during a congressional subcommittee hearing on cannabis reform. His outburst did not go unnoticed as several attendees at the event expressed their disapproval of his offensive language. The very vocal Alabama mayor called out the congressman, saying his comparison was blatant and offensive.

This event was convened by the US House of Representatives Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties for a bipartisan congressional hearing calling for the removal of the federal ban. Given the broad support for legalizing marijuana, it’s obvious that such reforms and legislative changes were long overdue. Many Republicans, like Rep. Pete Sessions, an ardent opponent of marijuana legalization and former chair of the House Rules Committee, oppose it.

Putting cannabis and slavery together in one statement is wrong

At a hearing by the House Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, which was examining federal decriminalization and state and local activity on cannabis reform, Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, stated that the idea of ​​selling legal marijuana, the proponents of the It is primarily investors who take advantage of the reform.

The sessions explained that in jurisdictions where the product is promoted and sold, it is endorsed primarily by individuals who make money from it. Backing up his point, he compared the burgeoning cannabis industry to the defunct slave market, saying, “Slavery was a terrible situation that this nation and the world at large had to endure for a very long time, and it generated significant revenue for individuals and the government. “

Sessions went on to explain that he expected the hearing to highlight more facts about the overt harm marijuana is causing to our children, our communities, and the United States of America, among others.

“Schedule 1 drugs, including marijuana, are devastating. They lead to substance abuse, crime and mental health problems,” the congressman said. Responding to groups and congressmen who criticize the police, the congressman stated, “Today, I think it’s important for us to recognize people who attack the police department.” He stressed that law enforcement agencies protect communities, to protect people from lawbreakers and to store dangerous objects.

Twenty minutes after observing sessions, Randall Woodfin was questioned by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat, about the distinction between pardons and deletions. According to a joint memorandum on cannabis released by the subcommittee the day before the hearing, Woodfin used a 1975 law to set up the Pardons for Progress program in Alabama. The measure acquitted more than 15,000 city residents of marijuana possession convictions.

When he went on record, the mayor immediately criticized Representative Sessions’ earlier choice of words. He explained that Session and its committee members made a grave mistake in placing cannabis and slavery in the same group. He then responded to his question by describing how executive-level pardons are granted and how presidents, governors and mayors are given the power to reduce sentences or free prisoners.

Clarifying the importance of the erasure, he said, “The erasure is very important because it’s at the judicial level.” the offender is applying for a job. Therefore, erasure by the court process allows for the obfuscation of an individual’s full record, which includes both the arrest and the actual charge.”

Cannabis rescheduling is inevitable

At the hearing, seven witnesses gave their opinions on the impact of cannabis criminalization, discrimination, incineration and other consequences of the government’s current cannabis plan. Subcommittee Chair Jamie Raskin (D) worked across groups to find a way to reverse the current inclusion of cannabis on the Controlled Substances List.

The witnesses were interviewed by various members of the subcommittee during their allotted time on a variety of topics in state legal markets, such as medicinal cannabis, the regulations regulating cannabis packaging and marketing, and the impact of archaic federal law on the industry generally.

One of the Witnesses who has been working hard to change marijuana policy for over 30 years, Paul Armentano, executive director at NORML, argued that a date shift was needed to close the growing and unacceptable gap between state and federal cannabis regulations.

During the question-and-answer session of the hearing, Mace asked Eric Goepel, Chief Executive Officer of the Veterans Cannabis Coalition, about the number of overdose deaths related to cannabis use. First, in his opening statement, Goepel gave details on veteran suicides, drug overdoses and toxic exposure. Then he explained that he doesn’t believe the CDC, DEA, NIDA [National Institute on Drug Abuse], or any other federal agency has ever directly linked a fatal overdose to cannabis. Mace then asked for a specific answer, and Goepel replied that according to the federal government, the number was zero.

Further comments at the hearing

While making his general statements about controlled substances, Rep. Pete Sessions erroneously cited some unsubstantiated data to support his opposition to cannabis reforms. He added, “We are talking about this matter being bipartisan, but I believe we also need to consider all the relevant facts,” he added in the US for the calendar year ended April 2021, an increase of 28, 5% compared to the 78,056 deaths in the same period last year.”

It was later discovered that nowhere in the report, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Statistical Reports, did the words “marijuana, THC, or cannabis” appear.

bottom line

It’s not surprising that Sessions’ comments drew criticism, given they come at a time when nearly a third of those incarcerated for cannabis possession crimes are African American, according to Texas NORML’s State Arrests Study, in its home state of Texas, while it accounts for only 13% of the total population of the state. Cannabis reform advocates are optimistic that the hearing reports would accelerate implementation of cannabis reforms at the federal level.

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