Some of our favorite Hip Hop stars are coming together to do some good for the community.
Meek Mill, Drake, and Killer Mike are reportedly among 150 celebrities who joined prison reform activist Weldon Angelos in requesting President Joe Biden pardon nonviolent weed offenders, Fox13 reports. As most are well aware, the attitude toward cannabis has changed immensely in the last year or so — so, everyone wants to know why so many inmates are still doing a hard time over the largely legalized drug? And, of course, most of those inmates are Black, as studies have shown Black people are arrested for violating marijuana laws at four times the rate of white folks.
In a 25-page letter to President Biden, the music community wrote:
“Whatever one thinks of other drugs and other defendants, incarcerating marijuana offenders in federal prisons is a misuse of our nation’s resources and grossly hypocritical, given that a clear majority of Americans oppose marijuana prohibition and about half admit to using the drug during their lifetime,” adding “It also stands against the arc of history and the principle of federalism: nearly three-quarters of the states have now abandoned the federal government’s blanket criminal ban in favor of safe, regulated legal access to marijuana for adults and/or those with qualifying medical conditions.”
The letter went on to detail the impact of long-term federal incarceration, noting “The pains of federal marijuana convictions transcend prison walls, making it more difficult for someone to get a job, access affordable housing, and receive an education.”
Click here to read the letter in full and let us know your thoughts on pardoning nonviolent marijuana offenders.
