Atlanta, Georgia Passes Cannabis Reform Law

The city council of Atlanta, Georgia unanimously passed legislation to lessen the consequences for cannabis possession.

With this particular measure, officially called 17-O-1152, citizens of Atlanta will only be required to pay $75 if caught in possession of more than one ounce of cannabis, and the measure eliminates the possibility of jail time. This penalty isn’t as harsh as the city’s previous municipal code, which included up to a $1,000 fine as well as jail time up to six months.

The recently passed measure received quite a lot of support from council members, including Kwanza Hall and Mayor Kasim Reed, as well as Dr. George Napper, who was Atlanta’s first black police chief between 1978 and 1982. Napper posted a statement about the monumental approval, mainly due to the effect that cannabis arrests had on local youth. “I applaud [Hall’s] recent effort in introducing legislation to decriminalize marijuana arrests and convictions,” Napper stated. “As Chief of Police I saw first-hand the destruction of young people’s futures due to juvenile indiscretions.”

Hall, who is currently running as a mayoral candidate, is also in support of approaching the cannabis conversation differently. “Today we stand with every parent of Atlanta who is fearful of or has seen their children’s lives destroyed, or careers ruined because of a racist policy that unjustly incarcerated minorities by more than [90] percent,” Hall announced. “Reforming the racist marijuana laws on the book in Atlanta has been just one in a number of reforms that I have fought for.” Hall introduced 17-O-1152 on March 20 of this year.

Although the votes have been cast, the measure will not take effect until Mayor Reed has signed it as well. It’s very likely that he will sign, as he posted on Twitter the day of the unanimous vote that he plans to sign it soon, “I look forward to reviewing & signing this legislation.”