We post news and comment on federal criminal justice issues, focused primarily on trial and post-conviction matters, legislative initiatives, and sentencing issues.

THEY’RE B-A-A-A-CK

Congress returned last week after its long August recess, ready to dig in and work on anything other than criminal justice reform.

Last week, the right-of-center Americans For Tax Reform wrote all members of Congress urging passage of the EQUAL Act (S.524, H.R. 1062). Anti-tax advocate Grover Norquist argued that the crack/powder sentencing “unjustified disparity has resulted in the imprisonment of people who pose no greater threat than their counterparts convicted of cocaine offenses for far greater periods.”

Norquist argued that “it is a core, taxpayer-funded, government role to protect citizens from crime, and manage the criminal justice system. Taxpayers, and all Americans who cherish individual liberty, should take an interest that the criminal justice system is efficient and effective at protecting public safety, upholding the rule of law and property rights, while respecting the constitutional rights of citizens. Where there are failures, conservatives should work to fix the issue, just as we do in other areas of government.”

The Illinois Times last week reported that Sen Richard Durbin (D-IL), chair of the Judiciary Committee, said the EQUAL Act has failed to come up for a Committee vote “because of the opposition of a Republican member of the committee, whom he declined to identify.”

“One Republican wouldn’t go for 1-to-1, and we deal with consensus on the committee,” Durbin said. “I have him down lower – substantially lower than 18-to-1 – and I’m trying to get the other side that wants it to be 1-to-1 to accept a different figure. But that’s where we’ve been stuck for over a year. I’m going to do my best to get this moving.”

The unidentified Republican is undoubtedly Sen Charles Grassley (R-IA), ranking Republican on the Committee and co-sponsor with Durbin of a number of reform measures, most notably the First Step Act. Last December, Grassley’s proposal of 2.5-1 and nonretroactivity except with Dept of Justice consent in the so-called SMART Cocaine Sentencing Act (S.4116) killed EQUAL’s passage in the last Congress. Now, 9 months later, nothing seems to have changed.

Meanwhile, in the wake of last week’s recommendation by the Dept of Health and Human Services that marijuana be rescheduled from a Schedule I to a Schedule III drug, the White House last week asserted that President Biden has “always supported the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes,” she said. “He’s been very clear about that, where appropriate, consistent with medical and scientific evidence.

Marijuana Moment noted that “it’s not accurate to say that Biden has “always” backed cannabis reform. As a senator, he championed several pieces of legislation that ramped up the war on drugs.” Nevertheless, “if DEA goes along with HHS’s Schedule III recommendation, that would represent a major shift in federal marijuana policy, with an acknowledgment that cannabis is not a drug of high abuse potential and no medical utility.”

On the other hand, The Hill reported that advocates and policy experts say rescheduling marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act does not address the plethora of racial justice issues caused by current law.

“Rescheduling doesn’t address … the harm to marginalized communities,” said Natacha Andrews, executive director for the National Association of Black Cannabis Lawyers. “It doesn’t address the over-policing, it doesn’t address the immigration issues, it doesn’t address the access to federal services, and it’s not in alignment with what 38 states have done to regulate and legalize.”

“My initial reaction is that this is less than what the Biden administration promised specifically,” Cat Packer, director of drug markets and legal regulation at the Drug Policy Alliance, told The Hill.

MSNBC reported, “To be sure, moving marijuana to Schedule III wouldn’t dismantle the drug war or solve the host of problems needlessly caused by prohibition. Descheduling, or removing the plant from the government’s list of controlled substances, would make more sense and better align with Biden’s stated criminal justice views. Still, rescheduling would be historic, if only due to the historic stupidity that has kept cannabis on Schedule I to date.”

Americans for Tax Reform, Support for the EQUAL Act (September 8, 2023)

Illinois Times, Unjust Sentencing (September 7, 2023)

Marijuana Moment, Biden Has ‘Always Supported The Legalization Of Marijuana For Medical Purposes,’ White House Says Amid Rescheduling Recommendation (September 4, 2023)

The Hill, Marijuana rescheduling falls short of expectations on Biden (September 8, 2023)

MSNBC, What the federal ‘rescheduling’ of cannabis would (and wouldn’t) mean (September 4, 2023)

– Thomas L. Root