WILMINGTON — Cannabis pardons and legalization are on the table in North Carolina, and people in the tri-county area stand to benefit.
The renewed interest started when President Joe Biden pardoned all federal simple marijuana possession charges on Thursday and encouraged governors to take similar steps for the millions of convictions in state courts. Now, N.C. Gov. Roy Cooper is pushing the legislature to decriminalize the drug and considering his own round of pardons.
READ MORE: Two marijuana bills up for review in NC: Will one finally seal the deal?
A statement from Cooper’s office said Friday he asked state lawyers “to examine North Carolina law regarding simple possession of marijuana convictions and pardons to determine if there is action we can and should take.”
The same day Cooper and Attorney General Josh Stein addressed a state criminal justice taskforce and expressed support for ditching criminal charges for small amounts of cannabis.
The North Carolina Senate has shown bipartisan support for decriminalizing the drug as well. In June, it passed a bill with a bipartisan majority that would legalize medical cannabis, purchasable through dispensaries, with a physician’s permission; however, Senate Bill 711, also known as the N.C. Compassionate Care Act, failed to reach a vote in the House.
House Speaker Tim Moore said the issue will not be reconsidered until 2023.
It is difficult to quantify how many people locally would be affected by a sweeping misdemeanor possession pardon. Biden’s move came with stipulations, like if someone was charged for marijuana and cocaine possession at the same time they would not be exempt.
Brian Talbott, director of communications for Wilmington-based nonprofit Leading Into New Communities, said if he were to hazard a guess, the number in the Cape Fear area would creep into the thousands.
LINC helps people transition back into public life after being released from prison. Talbott said most of the clients the nonprofit works with have past legal issues related to drugs, and any change on the legality of cannabis would make it easier for many of them.
“What we talk about a lot at LINC is once you go to prison, long after you’ve served your time, you have to check this box when you go apply for a job application,” Talbott said. “It becomes more and more difficult for people.”
He added state pardons would be a win for people of color. Federal research dating back to 1995 shows Black and brown individuals are more likely to be charged with drug crimes; 80% of people in federal prison for drug offenses are Black or Latino.
The New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office alone has charged 77 people with misdemeanor marijuana possession this year, but those are state charges, not affected by Biden’s pardon. Receiving a federal charge proves more difficult.
The state statute splits simple possession charges into two categories: less than half an ounce, and between half an ounce and 1.5 ounces. Possession of more is considered a felony. The charges are punishable by fines and jail time up to a maximum of $1,000 and 45 days, respectively, but a small amount of marijuana alone will not land an individual in jail.
New Hanover County Second Chance Alliance Coordinator Daquan Peters said marijuana pardons would carry benefits when it comes to facing the aftereffects of having a record.
“If a person has a possession of marijuana charge on his or her record, if that gets expunged then they don’t have collateral consequences,” Peters said. “Being barred from certain employment and housing, social benefits, education, a variety of things.”
A misdemeanor possession that shows up on a background check may make an employer question one’s fitness for a job or could be cause for a landlord to deny a rental application.
Greater social penalties start kicking in when someone is convicted of a felony. The state bars anyone with a felony drug conviction from collecting food stamps for at least six months — and possibly for life, depending on the offense.
Peters noted he personally spent 12 years in prison on federal charges for crack cocaine distribution; he said the reality is federal misdemeanor marijuana pardons alone have little impact. He called the move “smoke and mirrors,” but if a state pardon went into effect, Peters said it would be a signal the state is preparing to legalize the drug and that could tap into a powerful voting block.
In July, the North Carolina State Board of Elections announced people on felony probation and parole can now register to vote. Peters said that accounts for 56,000 potential voters statewide, a potential impact at the polls.
For example, Peters’ political candidate Cheri Beasly lost reelection as chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court in 2020 to Paul Newby by only 401 votes. Had those additional voters been eligible to partake in the 2020 election, it could have turned out differently.
Locally, there is a bit of relief for people charged with misdemeanor possession for the first time. District Attorney Ben David said his office has maintained a clemency policy for first-time misdemeanor possession offenders for his entire 18-year tenure and no one is in jail solely on a simple possession conviction.
“Where my discretion comes in is usually at the sentencing phase,” David said.
First-time offenders get a deferred prosecution option, meaning they won’t go to jail. The charge will be removed if the offender complies with a “community-based alternative,” usually community service.
“As a practical matter, all the cases in recent memory here for those that would qualify have been getting removed from people’s records,” David said.
David said there is an interesting legal question tied to the broad legalization of marijuana.
“Very frequently it is an arrest, or even a search for cannabis, that leads to the discovery of other illicit substances, particularly harder drugs like opioids, fentanyl and heroin,” David said. “[D]rugs and guns run together, so sometimes people are prohibited possessors of weapons.”
David said lawyers will have to fight over the implications of any sweeping change and he will leave that to the legislature to figure out. He said his job is to simply uphold the law as it is set out by the state.
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