Yesterday, Gwinnett County Commission struck a proposed harm reduction ordinance from its agenda. The crucial legal change would have replaced arrest for <1oz of cannabis with a fine and community service, with no lifetime criminal record. But the measure is now effectively dead, with no recourse for the public.
Peachtree NORML thanks you for your calls, emails, and letters encouraging the commissioners to do the right thing. We share your frustration that the clear consensus of Georgia voters continues to be ignored.
Gwinnett obscures its data on arrests for cannabis (despite Peachtree NORML’s Open Records requests) so there is no way to know how many more people will be given lifetime criminal records before the reform resurfaces.
We must keep the pressure on in Gwinnett. These five Commissioners (all Democrats) have the power to limit the harms associated with the War on Drugs, and we will continue to remind them of that responsibility.
Hours after a majority of the Commissioners voted to abandon the proposed change, Commissioner Kirkland Carden joined Peachtree NORML to talk about what happened and what’s next for reform in Gwinnett. He also takes questions from our members.