Marijuana Decriminalization Bill Supported By Local Prosecutor

ARLINGTON, VA — Parisa Dehghani-Tafti, the Commonwealth’s Attorney for Arlington and the City of Falls Church, joined more than 50 other elected prosecutors calling on Congress to decriminalize marijuana, expunge prior convictions, and dedicate funding to communities impacted by the war on drugs.

Dehghani-Tafti added her name to an Aug. 19 letter sent to Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Steny Hoyer, both Democrats, endorsing the Marijuana Opportunity and Reinvestment (MORE) Act (H.R. 3884).

"As front-line public safety experts, we believe that responsible regulation and control of marijuana will be more beneficial to society than prohibiting and criminalizing it," the letter said. "The COVID-19 pandemic shines a bright light on why this kind of reform is urgent as ever as a matter of public health, safety, and better use of much needed resources."

New York Rep. Jerrold Nadler introduced H.R. 3884 in July 2019, and the prosecutors urged swift passage of the bill when it comes up for a floor vote in September.

The House Judiciary Committee voted in support of the bill last fall, becoming the first congressional body to support de-scheduling marijuana.

"If marijuana had never been criminalized, many more Americans would greet us with warmth and cooperation rather than fear and malice," the letter said. "Without the trust of the people we serve, we lose a valuable crime-fighting resource. When community members refuse to talk to us, fail to present evidence or even to report crime, our jobs become much more difficult. Legalizing marijuana will help alleviate this tension and allow us to focus on our shared priorities: responding to emergencies and curbing serious crime."

If the MORE Act becomes law, funding that would've gone to enforce marijuana law violations would be redirected to tackling more serious and violent crimes.

"Americans were arrested for marijuana seven million times between 2001 and 2010, the vast majority of which were just for possession. Even as more states legalize marijuana, police made more than 663,000 marijuana arrests — 92 percent of them for possession — last year alone," the letter said. "Meanwhile, homicide and sex crimes units struggle to get evidence examined in a timely manner."

Other local law enforcement leaders who signed the letter include Buta Biberaj, Commonwealth’s Attorney for Loudoun County; Marilyn J. Mosby, State’s Attorney for Baltimore City, Maryland; and Capt. Sonia Pruitt, of the Montgomery County Police Department.

When Dehghani-Tafti became Commonwealth's Attorney in January, she began filing motions to dismiss some marijuana possession cases on a case-by-case basis.

"The misconception is that reformers don't care about safety," she told Patch at the time. "It's exactly the opposite. We want our communities to be safe. We take a more long-term view of safety."

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It’s not a hard call: we support the legislation that helps rebuild communities and allows us to focus on serous crime. https://t.co/AeltsTqYA5
— Parisa Dehghani-Tafti (@parisa4justice) August 21, 2020