(Image source from: nj.com)

Activists in the state of New Jersey took to the streets to protest for the legalization of Marijuana in their state.

Marijuana or smoking weed is illegal I most of the parts of world. In some parts of the world growing or using marijuana plant for medical reason is acceptable and legal but not for any other reasons.

The prohibition of Marijuana began some 8 decades ago when the federal government came in to the pictureto put a ban on the sale, use and also cultivation of the Cannabis plant. The use of Marijuana is illegal on a federal level.

In United States, in total of 50 states 9 states have legalized the use of marijuana without a doctor’s letter for anyone who is above 21 years and in 29 states marijuana is legal only for the medical reasons, which means they need a doctor’s letter.

The protestors in New Jersey took the streets on Friday and were seen shouting Breonna Taylor’s name. For those of who don’t know this yet, Breonna Taylor was a Black Emergency medical worker and was killed on 13th March. The 26 year old medical worker was shot by police brutality in her own apartment in Kentucky.

On March 13, 2020 the Police department of Louisville, Kentucky carried out a no-knock warrant and barged in the apartment of Breonna Taylor as a part of their narcotics investigation.

The protestors gathered near the Newark City hall on Friday and shouted “Breonna Taylor died as a result of the war on drugs,” Josh Al was the leader of these protests and was seen shouting to the demonstrators on the steps of the city hall.

Josh Alb who is a student of William Paterson University lives in the Newark city in New Jersey. He works in the Cannabis industry. He along with other protestors is trying to bring out 30 demonstrators while shouting Breonna Taylor’s name and making it more about her.

He was also seen calling out the police officials who went into her apartment in a no-knock warrant and shot her 8 times. They went in for drugs which were never there and this information has been missing in the police statement of the investigation case.

The no-knock warrant is a part of the war on drugs campaign which is a narcotics prohibition campaign. This campaign was created in the 1970’s under the former president Richard Nixon.

Josh Alb also pointed out the discrimination that still happens from 1970’s against Black people saying that the same policy is being used even today to harm black people like Breonna Taylor.

Josh Alb the head of the protestors and the spokesperson believes the legalization of Marijuana in New Jersey could happen soon. The voters in the state of New Jersey could decide the fate of marijuana in the state.

The law makers in the state have given up on trying again and again legalizing marijuana. Most of the legislators not all support the legalization of marijuana in the state. One of the legislators whois also a former police official, Senator Ron Rice still believes that marijuana is unsafe and no one could profit from the legalization of the plant. He is the leader of the State Legislative Black Caucus.

The protestors or the Demonstrators were seen marching to Peter Francisco Park near Newark Penn Station. The demonstrators were also joined mid-way by Ken Wolski who is the executive director of the Coalition for Medical Marijuana in the state of New Jersey.

Ken Wolski also said that Newark citizens face more penalties on the use of marijuana than any other suburbs in New Jersey. He also mentioned the School Zone laws in Newark were citizens get enhanced penalty for standing anywhere in the city for any kind of marijuana violation.

The protestors also tried to make this marijuana protests about the live of Black people by stating an American report. In the report the data shows that Black people in New Jersey were arrested at a rate of 3.45 times higher than White people in New Jersey for the same Marijuana violation.

America has already been protesting a Black Lives matter movement after the death of George Floyd by the Minneapolis Police Department. The case was of police brutality when a police official neck downed George Floyd without any fault of his own and just because he was a person of black colour.

“You can’t tell me that someone’s co-morbidity is meth or fentanyl when a police officer is kneeling on his neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds,” Alb said. “That ain’t meth at that point.”

By Deepika Agarwal