RE: Support H. R. 964, Respect States’ and Citizens’ Rights Act of 2013
Dear Representative:
On behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), a national non-partisan civil liberties advocacy organization consisting of over a half million members, countless additional activists and supporters, and 53 affiliates nationwide, we are writing to express our support for H.R. 964, Respect States’ and Citizens’ Rights Act of 2013, which would protect any state laws that pertain to marijuana by ensuring that such laws are not pre-empted by the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).
This past November, voters in Colorado and Washington passed laws legalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana by adults for personal use. These state initiatives passed by margins of six points and ten points, respectively. Despite voters’ overwhelming support in both states for the marijuana initiatives, many people – in Colorado and Washington as well as around the country – are concerned that the federal government may not respect these state laws and may attempt to invalidate them by means of a preemption challenge, alleging that the CSA prohibits states from enacting such laws. The CSA should not and, in our view, does not pre-empt Colorado and Washington’s marijuana legalization laws. Enactment of the Respect States’ and Citizens’ Rights Act would ensure that the CSA is construed in accordance with that Congressional intent.
Recognizing the costly failure of this country’s policies towards marijuana over the past several decades, voters in Colorado and Washington have chosen to provide safe and smart alternatives to marijuana prohibition that will generate over a half-billion dollars annually in new revenue for state and local government. This money will supplement Colorado and Washington’s general treasuries and will support health care, research, education, and drug prevention programs. In addition, the repeal of state marijuana prohibition will free law enforcement to focus on violent crime and will reduce the number of and racial disparities between people arrested and jailed for marijuana possession. Indeed, ineffective marijuana laws have damaged civil liberties across the country for many years. They have cause an erosion in protections against unreasonable searches and seizures and the incarceration of large numbers of non-violent offenders. Moreover, such laws have resulted in the discriminatory targeting of people of color. A recent report issued by the Marijuana Arrest Research Project found that since 1986 the state of Washington has spent over $300 million of taxpayer money arresting 240,000 adults for marijuana possession. The Research Project also found that these arrests have disproportionately affected communities of color. Even though the marijuana usage rate is the same across racial groups, African Americans in Washington were arrested at nearly triple the rate of whites, while Latinos and Native Americans were arrested at 1.6 times the rate of whites. Indeed, from 2001 to 2010, 25 percent of the people arrested for marijuana possession in Washington were African Americans, Latinos and Native Americans even though these groups comprised only 14 percent of the state’s residents.
H.R. 964 would ensure that the will of the citizens of Colorado and Washington is respected and fulfilled and it would clarify that any allegations of pre-emption are contrary to Congressional intent. The ACLU looks forward to working with state and federal officials to ensure these state laws are fully and fairly implemented. If you have any additional questions about this issue, please feel free to contact Jesselyn McCurdy, Senior Legislative Counsel at jmccurdy@dcaclu.org or (202) 675-2307.
Sincerely,
Laura W. Murphy, Director Jesselyn McCurdy
Washington Legislative Office Senior Legislative Counsel