2024 Democrat Platforms includes marijuana reform
Wisconsin State Democrats Platform on cannabis: Marijuana should be legal, regulated, and taxed like tobacco and alcohol.
National Democrats Platform on cannabis:
President Biden is committed to rehabilitation and reentry for people returning to their communities after incarceration, and to building a criminal justice system that lives up to those ideals and ensures that everyone receives equal justice under law. That’s why he’s taken historic steps to make this promise a reality.
No one should be in jail just for using or possessing marijuana. Sending people to prison for possession has upended too many lives and incarcerated people for conduct that many states no longer prohibit. Those criminal records impose needless barriers to employment, housing, and educational opportunities, disproportionately affecting Black and brown people. President Biden took historic action to end this failed approach by pardoning people convicted federally for using or possessing marijuana. He has called on governors to use their pardon power to do the same for state-level offenses. And his Administration is taking a major step to reschedule cannabis so it’s no longer classified as more dangerous than fentanyl or methamphetamine.
President Biden has released a comprehensive strategic plan to improve the criminal justice system and strengthen public safety, including more than 100 concrete actions. The Administration is improving rehabilitation in jails and prisons and helping people rebuild their lives, an important step in reducing recidivism. It has invested nearly $1 billion in job training, addiction recovery, and reentry services across the country; and expanded access to Pell Grants, so people can earn a college degree while they are incarcerated, starting over with new skills. The Administration will keep investing in housing, mentorship, job training, and apprenticeship programs as well. It is working to end the school-to-prison pipeline by reissuing guidance from the Departments of Education and Justice to prevent disparate discipline of children of color and with disabilities and incentivizing states to develop
community-based alternatives to prison for young people. And, President Biden reestablished the Justice Department’s standalone Office for Access to Justice to ensure that everyone can get legal assistance.
President Biden has used his pardon power to right historical wrongs. In addition to pardoning simple possession and use of marijuana, he’s pardoned or shortened the sentences of people convicted of other nonviolent drug offenses and pardoned approximately 2,000 gay, lesbian, and bisexual veterans who were convicted years ago just for being themselves.
Democrats will take action to expunge federal marijuana-only convictions. We will combat drug trafficking and expand the use of drug courts, interventions, and diversion for people with substance use disorders. We will fund a new Accelerating Justice System Reform grant program to provide jurisdictions with critical resources to foster community trust and safety, reduce inequity and justice system involvement, and alleviate burdens on police. We will expand access to public defenders and step up civil rights enforcement, including by boosting funding for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and hiring 50 new Assistant U.S. Attorneys. And, we will remove barriers to legal access, combat hate crimes, and counter cyber threats. To keep children and teens safe and out of the justice system, we will invest in after-school programs, community centers, and summer jobs. And, to ensure young people get a second chance after leaving the justice system, we will automatically seal and expunge juvenile records.
Democrats will end state-level use of private prisons and detention centers, and we will restrict state and local practices like solitary confinement, chokeholds, and restraints on pregnant inmates. We will guarantee access to medical care in prison and will eliminate profiteering from diversion, bail, electronic monitoring, commissaries, and reentry programs. We will support rehabilitation and education, including college programs, for inmates in prison and after their release. To help returning citizens succeed upon their release, we will boost access to transitional housing, affordable housing, mental health and substance use treatment. We will limit reincarcerating people federally to only serious violations of supervised release. And, we will work to expand “ban the box” so returning citizens can more easily find work, protect their right to vote, and protect their right to public services like Pell Grants and nutrition assistance.
Trump’s approach to criminal justice could not be more different. His Administration threatened federal prosecution for marijuana cases in states where marijuana was legal. As president, Trump granted fewer clemency requests than nearly every president since the
start of the 20th century; and many of his grants were reserved for well-connected offenders and close friends and associates like Steve Bannon, Roger Stone, Paul Manafort, Michael Flynn, and Charles Kushner. His Administration cut support for halfway houses and
decreased the number of federal prisoners sent to transitional housing. And, it reinstated contracts with private prisons.
