(De-facto) Life Sentences: Collateral Sanctions Associated with Marijuana Offenses

A landmark report by the Center for Cognitive Liberty and Ethics.
In addition to the punishment imposed by the judge, a misdemeanor conviction for possession of marijuana can trigger automatic bars on educational aid, a bar on serving as a foster parent, denial of federal housing assistance, revocation or suspension of occupational licenses, and suspension of one's driver's license. A felony conviction (for example, growing a marijuana plant) can result in all of these sanctions, and more.

If marijuana offenses are considered less of an affront to civil society than violent crimes such as murder, rape, or kidnapping, or even less of an affront than other drug offenses, our study shows that this consideration is rarely found in any of the collateral sanctions. A person convicted of growing marijuana (a felony in most states) is often subjected to the same, and sometimes greater, collateral sanctions than a person convicted of murder, rape, or robbery.

This report examines these sanctions in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, and ranks the jurisdictions in order or severity.
On the one hand, this report is utterly infuriating to any thinking human with a functioning MORAL CONSCIENCE; on the other hand, it's also very good data as to why we must each MAKE A HUGE SACRIFICE FOR THE CAUSE by SAFEGUARDING OUR PRECARIOUS LIBERTY by following the current unjustifiably ignorant laws, thus avoiding these Immoral Totalitarian Consequence.

We must then follow through by making a conscious choice to simultaneously DEVOTE OUR SACRIFICED PERSONAL FREEDOM to CHANGING THIS IGNORANCE for the FUTURE FREEDOM OF ALL. This is the only path forward to victory, my brothers and sisters; FULLY LAW-ABIDING CITIZENS must actively protest, fund raise, write and file new legislation, and oppose all laws which are IMMORAL and UNETHICAL in their obscenely disproportionate treatment of non-violent offenders.

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