Atlanta decriminalizes cannabis

The Atlanta City Council (Georgia) voted yesterday to pass the’Ordinance 1700-1152 aimed at decriminalizing cannabis possession offenses.

«Today, we represent all parents who fear or have seen their children’s lives destroyed, or careers ruined, because of a racist policy that incarcerated minorities at a rate of more than 90%,» said Kwanza Hall, the council member who introduced the bill on March 20.

Hall continues: «And one of the most important people who recognized the injustice and harshness of the law is Dr. George Nappe, who was the city’s first African American police chief, and I’d like to thank him for his support.»

Until now, possession of up to 28g of cannabis was punishable by a fine of 1000$ and up to 6 months in prison. Under the new legislation, it will be punishable only by a maximum fine of 75$.

The new legislation had been debated in May. One of the strongest arguments in the debate was that in Atlanta, 92% of arrests for drug offenses involved African Americans, even though field studies had clearly shown that cannabis use was similar across all racial groups.

Atlanta is thus following in the footsteps of several U.S. cities—such as Kansas City, Dallas, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, and Nashville—that have decided to go beyond their states’ laws and allow their residents to possess, grow, or share certain amounts of cannabis without facing jail time.