Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance has dropped 3,042 formerly open cannabis possession and consumption cases. With this motion, warrants will be vacated, and all associated charges dismissed. The cases date back to 1978 and New York Criminal Court Judge Kevin McGrath has already ordered the cases to be sealed within 90 days.

Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance said that their office has developed a new policy consisting of a “decline to prosecute” mentality that essentially orders prosecutors to stop filing any charges against those arrested on minor cannabis violations that mainly stem from small possession amounts and public consumption. The new policy initiative is expected to drop prosecutions by 96 percent and decriminalizes any future similar cases. Vance said that the move to drop these cases was “in the interest of justice” and that “…by vacating these warrants, we are preventing unnecessary future interactions with the criminal justice system.”

The new policy move may not totally be in the interest of justice, however. The Manhattan DA’s office is growing shorter on financial resources to even bring these types of cases to trial. By dropping the backlog of cases, it would be a “burden” that Vance said he would be happy to lose. The DA’s decision to vacate warrants and drop charges doesn’t apply to every open marijuana case, however. It only applies to misdemeanor and violation cases where a warrant was issued because a defendant didn’t appear in court. And it doesn’t apply to anyone charged with selling or distributing cannabis.

This specific move will not be an effort to expunge records pertaining to past convictions as was pointed out by Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez. Gonzalez just recently announced that he will be starting the process of dismissing tens of thousands of past cannabis convictions. Both Vance and Gonzalez have instructed their offices to also stop prosecuting cases where the defendants are only being accused of possessing small amounts of cannabis. The NYPD has also taken the same stance out in the field. Instead of making an arrest, the NYPD is looking to officers to issue a court summons or “weed ticket” for any scenario of possession or consumption that has no threat to the public’s safety.

Almost 80 percent of the New Yorkers whose warrants will be vacated are minorities. Most of those in that figure were 25 or younger when they were arrested by NYPD. Vacating more than 3,000 warrants does more than eliminating the need for divisive enforcement. It also eliminates many of the knock-down effects of having an open warrant. People with open warrants face difficulties finding housing and jobs and can even have their immigration status revoked.

By Tracy Jerome Chisley (@PoeticPanther)

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Pennsylvania is not new to the discussion of cannabis legalization, but the initial discussion, like other states that have moved to full legalization, started with the passage of medical sales. On February 15, 2018 the Keystone state began selling cannabis to patients and their caregivers after Act 16 went into law. Governor Tom Wolf had signed the act less than two years prior to sales beginning. However, Pennsylvania State Auditor General Eugene DePasquale is looking to influence various supporters by providing facts, pros and cons, on the concept of accepting full legalization of the flower. The main factor in his proposal is the final $581 million dollars that could be generated in tax revenue, per year, for the state.

DePasquale had released a report explaining the benefits of replacing marijuana prohibition laws with taxation and regulation for adults 21 and older. The report is giving the information needed to let supporters contact state lawmakers to push for legalization and stop wasting time and lives with the current prohibition position. Regulating cannabis would be better for the community as well as consumers. Regulation of cannabis will allow consumers to be provided with safe tested product. The state would also be able to control where, when and to whom the product could be sold.

In July of 2018 there were a reported 27 dispensaries that are operational and providing product and the state is expecting up to 81 more locations to start care across the state. Currently, over 30,000 patients have registered to be a part of the medical program and almost a thousand physicians have been registered as certified practitioners to provide care. However, the state is facing challenges with its budget, like many other states, and taxing cannabis is becoming to look very lucrative to Pennsylvania’s fiscal bottom line. The budget could be refocused on funding for pre-K initiatives, veteran’s mental health access as well as uninsured or underinsured at-risk children.

There are other benefits that would come from legalization that would directly affect families, especially minority families, and that comes in the realm of criminal law. Pennsylvania’s two largest cities, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, have decriminalized possession of up to an ounce of cannabis. According to statistics in 2016, after the first full year of decriminalization, possession arrests went down almost 50 percent. The other half of those arrests were for possession of over an ounce of cannabis, which would now be looked at as trafficking. Back in 2013, arrests from marijuana possession was the highest the state had experienced with over 2,000 people being arrested on that charge.

Pennsylvania is understanding the many benefits that legalization would provide, but when it comes right down to the main factors, financial windfalls for that state would be the largest motivator. As financial motivation in the form of generated tax revenue becomes more accepted across the US, then we will expect to see more and more states coming to their senses when it comes to the debate of the effectiveness of the current marijuana prohibition stance.

By T. Jerome Chisley (@PoeticPanther)

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Cannabis has been gaining ground lately regarding more accurate information coming out about its healing properties. Currently, there is a bill that could pass that would allow for federal testing of the plant for more accurate information on its benefits. In general, the public has expressed its neutralism on the decision on the use of cannabis provided the criminal element is removed. Overall, the issue of cannabis has become very mainstream and seems poised to become todays public prohibition victory as was alcohol with the first prohibition reversal in the United States back in the nineteen-thirties.

Just recently the Coca-Cola Company said that it is “closely watching” the opportunity to incorporate cannabis into a line of drinks. The drink manufacture is looking more seriously at the possibilities due to the culture of the mainstream right now being more in acceptance of cannabis-infused products in general. This would obviously be an indication that even long standing American companies are smart enough to understand the profits that could be gained from an industry that is looking to easily become a billion-dollar field.

Coca-Cola has reportedly been in talks with Canadian cannabis company, Aurora Cannabis Inc., to create a health drink that would be infused with the non-psychoactive ingredient CBD, which is also derived from the cannabis plant. Naturally, talks with such a large stapler of American business as Coca-Cola is known for internationally, stock in Aurora Cannabis rose nearly 17 percent on the Toronto Stock Exchange after the release of the report. Spokespeople for the companies declined to comment on the report but acknowledged their interest in that segment of the cannabis market.

Cannabidiol, or CBD, does not contain the high generally associated with cannabis use. CBD has many anti-inflammation and pain-relieving properties, and numerous CBD-infused products have emerged recently. Aurora Cannabis spokeswoman Heather MacGregor said that the company “has expressed specific interest in the infused-beverage space and we intend to enter that market. “Along with many others in the beverage industry, we are closely watching the growth of non-psychoactive CBD as an ingredient in functional wellness beverages around the world. The space is evolving quickly,” Coke spokesman Kent Landers said.

Marijuana becomes legal across Canada on Oct. 17th, 2018 and many cannabis companies from the United States have flooded to Canada to establish businesses there even though cannabis has been legalized in various levels in 29 states, it’s still illegal on the federal level in the U.S. overall. American companies interested in making a play in the cannabis realm can test the waters in Canada without engaging in something illegal back in the U.S.

In the past Coca-Cola has missed out on opportunities in new emerging drink trend markets. They missed the energy drink phenomenon that continues to produce lucrative windfalls and they missed the vitamin water and coffee craze, so they had to buy into those markets to gain any profits. Ali Dibadj, a senior analyst at Alliance Bernstein with an expertise in U.S. beverage and snack food companies said, “The company has been caught flat-footed in the past in not keeping up with trends in beverages.” However, even with more cannabis education many Americans aren’t intimately familiar with the cannabis plant and might not understand that CBD has no psychoactive properties. “I think you have to be very, very careful with this as a large brand. There are different viewpoints on a product category, and you don’t want to offend too much,” Dibadj said. “You don’t want to be too far ahead on any curve.”

By T. Jerome Chisley (@PoeticPanther)

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