Black Lives Matter Campaign Seeks to Decriminalize Cannabis

Following the murder of a young, black 17-year-old named Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman, the Black Lives Matter organization began working to rebuild the Black liberation movement. Four years later, and the killing and victim-blaming of black individuals continues in America.

Alton Sterling was shot and killed by Baton Rouge Police on July 5. Two videos showed two police officers holding Sterling face down on the ground while the shots were fired. The very next day, another black man named Philando Castile was also killed by police in Minnesota. Castile’s girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, streamed a video live on Facebook following a police officer shooting Castile. Reynolds stated her boyfriend was shot after he followed the officer’s request for him to reach for his wallet. Castile had disclosed to the officer that he was licensed to carry a concealed weapon. These two tragic murders, among many others, continue to ignite the fire behind the Black Lives Matter campaign, which has sparked a new platform called Campaign Zero.

According to Campaign Zero’s website, over 1,000 people are killed in America every year by police officers, while black people are three times more likely to be killed by police than white people. Contrary to what some may believe, fewer than one in three black people who were killed by police in the U.S. were suspected of being armed or committing a violent crime.

“In 2014, police killed at least 287 people who were involved in minor offenses and harmless activities like sleeping in parks, possessing drugs, looking ‘suspicious’ or having a mental health crisis.” In order to dismantle the racism and criminalization of people of color, Campaign Zero proposes various policy solutions. One of these policy solutions is to decriminalize harmless activities and make these actions not a priority for law enforcement, which includes the possession of cannabis. One example of legislation that sets to do this is H.R. 1940, the Respect State Marijuana Laws Act of 2015. This legislation amended the Controlled Substances Act protects people who are acting in compliance with a state’s cannabis laws.

While cannabis policies are a part of the problem, there are many other changes Campaign Zero proposes in order to end police violence in America, which include training, demilitarization, community representation, ending for-profit policing and more.