Cynthia Nixon Puts Legalizing Marijuana Front and Center of Campaign
Published on 4/10/18
Cynthia Nixon is running for governor in New York and she has some ideas that many in the state would say are good competition for current governor Andrew Cuomo. While Gov. Cuomo is not thrilled about the idea of recreational cannabis, ignorantly referring to cannabis as a "gateway drug", Cynthia Nixon recognizes the inequalities brought on by cannabis prohibition, particularly when it comes to 80% of cannabis arrests being minorities despite all races consuming cannabis at similar rates. Ontop of wanting to stop arresting minorities disproportionately she also wants to right the wrongs of the past and make sure that nonviolent cannabis offenders currently in jail will be released and have their records expunged.
In a brief homemade video posted to Twitter on Wednesday, Ms. Nixon, seated in her living room, speaking over a faint but steady hum of background noise, said 80 percent of New Yorkers arrested in connection with marijuana use were black or Latino, despite roughly equal rates of use among white people and communities of color.
“There are a lot of good reasons for legalizing marijuana, but for me, it comes down to this: We have to stop putting people of color in jail for something that white people do with impunity,” she said.