Briefs

Democratic voters overwhelmingly support legalization of marijuana at the federal level, giving legalization a green light. For ‘20, candidates should be prepared to blaze it.

As part of a recent survey of Democratic likely primary voters and caucus-goers (“Democratic voters” going forward), Data for Progress and YouGov Blue asked several items about marijuana legalization. One item simply asked about marijuana legalization at the federal level:

Would you [support or oppose] fully legalizing marijuana at the national level?

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It seems that every week, there’s another news story detailing horrifying misconduct or abuse by police somewhere in the US. Recently, the Justice Department declined to pursue charges against the police officer who murdered Eric Garner, again turning attention to police violence. Even in cases where police violence does not end in death, brutality and dishonesty by those who are tasked with public safety shocks the conscience.

But many of these stories remain hidden from public view. Lack of transparency and accountability often means that the public doesn’t hear the truth behind the news items for weeks, months, or years. In fact, the most cutting-edge criminal justice policy proposals indicate that changing the way we hold police officers accountable is central to reforming our broken criminal legal system, and suggest that it is central to ensure that “data, including demographic information,regarding all aspects of the criminal justice system — including arrests, prosecution decisions, law enforcement discipline and internal investigation records, and incarceration — is public and easily accessible to all.”

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