Page 16
February 20, 2019
O PINION
Opinion articles do not necessarily represent the views of the Portland Observer. We
welcome reader essays, photos and story ideas. Submit to news@portlandobserver.com.
Send a Message to End the War on Cannabis
Oregon’s Wyden
and Blumenauer
are on board
J ustin s trekal
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., has
introduced legislation in the Senate,
S. 420 — The Marijuana Revenue and
Regulation Act — to permit states to
establish their own marijuana regula-
tory policies free from federal interfer-
ence. In addition to removing marijua-
na from the United States Controlled
Substances Act, this legislation also
removes enforcement power from the
US Drug Enforcement Administration
in matters concerning marijuana pos-
session, production, and sales — thus
permitting state governments to regu-
late these activities as they see fit.
Senate Bill 420 is another sign that
the growing public support for ending
our failed war on cannabis consumers
nationwide is continuing to translate
by
into political support amongst federal
officials.
If we are truly going to move our
nation towards sensible marijuana pol-
icies, the removal of marijuana from
the Controlled Substances Act is par-
amount. Annually, 650,000 Americans
are arrested for nothing more than the
possession of small amounts of mari-
juana and now is the time for Congress
to once and for all end put an end to the
national embarrassment that is canna-
bis prohibition.
With marijuana legalization being
supported by a supermajority of Amer-
icans while Congress’ approval rating
hovers around 20 percent, ending our
country’s disastrous prohibition against
marijuana would not just be good poli-
cy, but good politics.
Upon introduction, Sen. Wyden said,
“The federal prohibition of marijuana
is wrong, plain and simple. Too many
lives have been wasted, and too many
economic opportunities have been
missed. It’s time Congress make the
changes Oregonians and Americans
across the country are demanding.”
U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, the
Portland Democrat who will carry the
House companion legislation, said
“Oregon has been and continues to be a
leader in commonsense marijuana pol-
icies and the federal government must
catch up. The American people have
elected the most pro-cannabis Con-
gress in American history and signifi-
cant pieces of legislation are being in-
troduced. The House is doing its work
and with the help of Senator Wyden’s
leadership in the Senate, we will break
through.”
Thirty-three states, Washington, D.C.
and the U.S. territories of Guam and
Puerto Rico have enacted legislation
specific to the physician-authorized use
of cannabis. Moreover, an estimated 73
million Americans now reside in the 10
states where anyone over the age of 21
may possess cannabis legally. An addi-
tional 15 states have passed laws spe-
cific to the possession of cannabidiol
(CBD) oil for therapeutic purposes.
Sixty-eight percent of registered
voters “support the legalization of mar-
ijuana,” according to 2018 national
polling data compiled by the Center for
American Progress. The percentage is
the highest level of support for legal-
ization ever reported in a nationwide,
scientific poll.
Majorities of Democrats (77 per-
cent), Independents (62 percent), and
Republicans (57 percent) back legal-
ization. The results of a 2017 nation-
wide Gallup poll similarly found ma-
jority support among all three groups.
For far too long, our Congress has
been intransigent regarding marijuana
prohibition. Now is the time for law-
makers to come together and hash out a
way forward to end the failed and cruel
policy of criminalization.
Add your voice to the growing cho-
rus demanding reform; send a message
to your lawmakers in support of S 420!
Justin Strekal is the political director
for NORML.
During Black History Month We Celebrate the Legacies
Freedom begins
with freedom for
the most
marginalized
t raCey l. r ogers
When I visited the Af-
rican American Civil War
Museum in Washington,
D.C., a volunteer docent asked the fol-
lowing question: “Who freed the slaves
after the Civil War?”
There were about 10 of us in the
group. Some looked around wondering
if it was a trick question, while others
blurted out, “Abraham Lincoln!” After
some time, the docent finally offered
his response: “Enlisted slaves freed
themselves, with the help of Union sol-
diers.”
I had a powerful reaction to this re-
sponse, because history tells a different
story of Lincoln as the “Great Eman-
cipator.”
The truth is, President Lincoln knew
the Union army would be unsuccessful
in its Civil War campaign without more
able bodies to defeat the Confederate
army.
When he issued his Emancipation
Proclamation, he didn’t merely an-
nounce the end of slavery in rebel terri-
tories. Lincoln also asked blacks to en-
by
list in the Union army, inviting “people
so declared to be free” to be “received
into the armed service of the Unit-
ed States.” Lincoln knew he needed
troops, but he also knew he couldn’t
make such a request without freeing
the slaves.
My ancestors didn’t go to war to
help the Union army, or to prevent
the South from seceding. Nor did
they fight alongside Union soldiers
because of a shared cause for a coun-
said, “No one is free until we all are
free.” What he meant at the time was
that we couldn’t dare refer to our na-
tion as “Land of the Free” when not all
of us were.
This was a contentious debate even
for the founding fathers. During the
Revolutionary War campaign for free-
dom from the British monarch, leaders
of the new nation were viewed as hyp-
ocrites abroad for enslaving Africans.
Matched only by America’s treat-
My ancestors fought in the
Civil War because freedom
was the reward after centuries
of enslavement.
try undivided. My ancestors fought in
the Civil War because freedom was the
reward after centuries of enslavement.
Blacks knew what was at stake. This
wasn’t about politics, nor was it about
patriotism. This was about freedom —
freedom for themselves, their grandchil-
dren, their great grandchildren — and
freedom for me, a distant descendant.
There was no other way around it. Sad-
ly, war was their only hope.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once
ment of indigenous people, slavery is
by far the darkest period of U.S. his-
tory. Even after the Civil War, blacks
in America endured another century of
Jim Crow while fighting for civil rights.
Even today, the struggle for black lives
continues, as racist systems and politi-
cians continue to erode our democracy.
America wouldn’t be America if
not for the wealth generated by blacks
forced into domestic slavery. So as
we celebrate Black History Month —
a too-short 28-day memorialization
highlighting the contributions of black
Americans — I invite you to consider
how their contributions benefited the
greater good of society despite mali-
cious attacks on our freedom.
Harriett Tubman literally brought
slaves to freedom via the Underground
Railroad. She was also a political activ-
ist and armed scout for the Union Army
during the Civil War.
Sojourner Truth, meanwhile, was
an early advocate for women’s rights
alongside Susan B. Anthony. Her work
paved the way for future leaders like
Tarana Burke, founder of the Me Too
movement that’s done so much to raise
awareness about pervasive sexual as-
sault in our society.
If you want life, liberty, and the pur-
suit of happiness, just look to black
Americans at the helm of freedom and
justice movements throughout the na-
tion.
Barack Obama said, “Our freedom
depends on you being free too.” Free-
dom for all begins with freedom for
those marginalized. The black commu-
nity has been denied basic freedoms for
centuries, which is why we inherently
understand what it means to truly be
free.
Tracey L. Rogers is an entrepreneur
and activist living in the Washington,
D.C. metropolitan area. Distributed by
OtherWords.org.