Political Quotes

“I thank the distinguished gentlewoman from Texas for yielding. The failed war on drugs first began almost 50 years ago, when Richard Nixon declared drug abuse public enemy number one. At the time there were less than 200,000 people incarcerated in America. Today, there are 2.3 million, disproportionately Black and Latino. Many of those who have been incarcerated over the years were imprisoned for nonviolent drug offenses, including possession of marijuana. The United States incarcerates more people than any other country in the world. We have ruined lives, families, and communities. It is a stain on our democracy. The possession of marijuana is done in equal, if not greater, numbers by White Americans when compared to Black Americans. Yet in community after community after community, Blacks and Latinos make up approximately 75 to 80 percent of the arrests and prosecutions. How can that be? Marijuana use is either socially acceptable behavior or it is criminal conduct, but it can't be socially acceptable behavior in some neighborhoods and criminal conduct in other neighborhoods when the dividing line is race. That is why we must pass the MORE Act, decriminalize marijuana in America, and bring to light the principle of liberty and justice for all.”