U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand along with Assemblywoman Crystal Peoples-Stokes made their argument for legalizing recreational marijuana in New York State.
The two lawmakers pointed to a study that 2 On Your Side highlighted and reported on that shows African Americans and Latinos make up half of Buffalo’s population and account for almost 80% of marijuana arrests here, despite marijuana use nationally being pretty even among races.
“The way our criminal justice system enforces this law unfortunately is racist. And so, it has to be fixed on both sides, yes,” U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand said. “And so, the states that were aggressive and have led the way are showing they can re-invest in their communities with this money.”
Gillibrand is co-sponsoring a bill in Washington that would make marijuana legal on the federal level and give incentives to states that change its marijuana laws.
