Nation’s Longest-Serving Nonviolent Marijuana Prisoner Freed After 31 Years Amid Cannabis Decriminalization Laws
Richard DeLisi is believed to be the nation's longest-serving inmate on a marijuana-related charge according to The Last Prisoner Project. This past Tuesday, DeLisi was released from custody after serving 31 years of a 90-year prison sentence in Florida on marijuana trafficking charges. His charges included racketeering and trafficking 100lbs of marijuana from Colombia to Florida.
Because of the changing landscape of marijuana laws, The Last Prisoner Project and its lawyers were able to successfully secure DeLisi’s freedom. The question remains, however, what does the new social and legal acceptance of marijuana across the nation mean for individuals like DeLisi who have already paid their dues? And what about the estimated 40,000 prisoners who are still behind bars for marijuana offenses?
Like many who are behind bars for marijuana-related crimes, DeLisi has lost more than just his freedom. While he was incarcerated, DeLisi, who is now 71, missed out on critical life events, including the passing of his wife and son and being there for his daughter after a serious car accident.
Passage of the MORE Act in the House
DeLisi’s release coincides with the passage of the MORE Act by the U.S. House of Representatives. In 2019, the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act was a piece of legislation introduced at the federal level. The bill passed with a 24-10 majority vote by the House Judiciary Committee and was recently approved by the full chamber, although it is expected to face a tougher reception in the (currently) Republican-controlled Senate.
This legislation would do several things, including removing cannabis from the Controlled Substance Act and tax cannabis products and goods at 5% in order to help drum up funding for criminal and social reform projects. The act will also allow individuals to have access to loans and other services from the Small Business Administration in regard to cannabis-related enterprises. Seeing as states spend over $3 billion every year on enforcing marijuana laws, the MORE Act could be a promising way for states to reallocate funds toward more pressing issues.
In the case of prisoners like DeLisi, the MORE Act would be most hopeful in its promise to expunge past convictions of individuals who were convicted of marijuana-related crimes. This last aspect of the MORE Act is what has allowed individuals like DeLisi to find freedom after years of incarceration. While it’s not yet clear what the implementation of this measure would be for those who have already lost so much because of the criminalization of marijuana, it is interesting to see how the MORE Act completely flips societal interaction with cannabis. Unfortunately, the changes expressed in the House Resolution only highlight how deep inequalities in our nation run.
The Winners and Losers of Marijuana Decriminalization
According to the ACLU, marijuana-related arrests account for over half of drug arrests in the United States, with African Americans being almost 3.75 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana crimes than whites. This national statistic is especially worrisome considering that data shows cannabis use is relatively equal among blacks and whites. The Drug Policy Alliance also highlights that over 660,000 people have been arrested for marijuana violations in 2018, with a majority of them being black.
The decriminalization of marijuana has fueled the cannabis industry, with legal businesses popping up all over the nation as states continue to lift restrictions on recreational and medicinal cannabis use. It’s interesting to note that white business owners are dominating the industry, whereas minorities, including blacks, are not. In a recent survey compiled by Marijuana Business Daily, 81% of marijuana businesses are owned by white people, with just only 4.3% percent being owned by blacks.
Obviously, this disproportionate breakdown has a variety of factors contributing to it, but it does make clear the reality that when interacting with marijuana, whether legally or illegally (depending on the laws of the time), blacks have consistently gotten the short end of the stick.
While the MORE Act is one step in what many consider to be the right direction for individuals who have had run-ins with the law because of marijuana use, it does beg the question of what will be in store for those like DeLisi who have lost years of their lives because the law took an excessive amount of time to catch up to societal reform. Not only that, but cases like DeLisi are one of the thousands of sentences that many deem to be excessive.
