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Activists Say Bill Ending Police Stops For Marijuana Odor Is ‘Small Step’ For Marginalized Communities

VCU CNS | September 2, 2020

Topics: ACLU of Virginia, chelsea higgs wise, Dana Schrad, General Assembly 2020, Louise Lucas, marijuana decriminalization, Marijuana Justice, Marijuana laws in Virginia, marijuana legalization, Patrick Hope, Steve Descano, Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police

In the wake of the General Assembly’s decriminalization of marijuana, which took effect July 1, this law would, according to activists, help decrease the over-policing of Black and brown Virginians.

The state Senate approved a bill Friday that would prohibit search and seizures based solely on the odor of marijuana. Activists say this is a small step toward ending adverse enforcement against marginalized communities.

Senate Bill 5029, introduced by Sen. Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, passed with a 21-15 vote. 

Chelsea Higgs Wise, executive director of Marijuana Justice, a nonprofit pushing for the statewide legalization of marijuana, said her group is excited to see the bill move forward.

“This is a small but important step to decriminalizing Black and brown bodies of being targeted by this longtime policing tool, which was really created by politicizing the war on drugs,” Higgs Wise said.

Members of the group Marijuana Justice at a press conference in January to support the legalization of marijuana in the commonwealth. Photo by Emma Gauthier/CNS.

Black people are more than three times as likely to be arrested for marijuana possession in Virginia compared to white people, according to 2018 data from the ACLU. Even after marijuana was decriminalized in July, Higgs Wise said police stops initiated on the smell of marijuana continue to adversely affect minority groups.

“The odor of marijuana is something that our undocumented community is anxious about, because it’s life or death and separation from their families,” Higgs Wise said.

Higgs Wise said there is still “a long way to go” before demands for full marijuana legalization are met, but right now she wants legislators to focus on ending the enforcement of remaining marijuana-related penalties.

Marijuana decriminalization legislation approved by the General Assembly earlier this year went into effect in July. Possession of up to an ounce of marijuana results in a $25 civil penalty, reduced from a $500 criminal fine and 30 days in jail for having up to half an ounce.

Higgs Wise said true reform goes further; clearing records, releasing people jailed for marijuana offenses, and eliminating the $25 fine. 

“All of that has to stop to meet the full demand of legalization and fully, truly decriminalizing marijuana and Black and brown bodies in the eyes of the police,” Higgs Wise said.

Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police Executive Director Dana Schrad said the organization opposes the bill. 

“Enacting this type of legislation allows and promotes smoking of marijuana while operating a motor vehicle, which is a fundamental disregard for maintaining a safe driving environment for motorists,” Schrad said in an email.

Other amendments in the bill reduce certain traffic violations from primary to secondary offenses, which Schrad said could make it difficult for officers to issue citations on the road and creates risks for other drivers.

The bill, and another in the House, reduce other traffic penalties from primary to secondary offenses, such as driving with tinted windows or without a light illuminating the vehicle’s license plate.

Claire Gastañaga, Executive Director of the ACLU of Virginia. Photo via Capital News Service

Claire Gastañaga, executive director of ACLU Virginia, said police have “gotten comfortable” with using the smell of marijuana as a pretext to stop and frisk.

“Occasionally, they’ll find evidence doing that of some other criminal activity, but many times they don’t,” Gastañaga said. “As a consequence, it provides an excuse for essentially over-policing people who have done nothing wrong.”

Gastañaga said the end of the overcriminalization of Black and brown people will come after legislators legalize marijuana and commit to reinvesting equitably in those communities. A resolution approved by the General Assembly earlier in the year directed the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission to study and make recommendations for how the commonwealth should legalize marijuana by 2022.

Gastañaga said SB 5029 sends a strong message to the police and the public.

“This would take [away] that pretextual tool for police stopping people on the street, or for demanding to search a vehicle,” Gastañaga said.

The bill needs approval from the House of Delegates and a signature from Gov. Ralph Northam before it can become law, which would take effect four months after the special session adjourns. 

House Bill 5058 similarly aims to end police searches based on the odor of marijuana. The bill, introduced by Del. Patrick Hope, D-Arlington, reported Wednesday from the House Courts of Justice committee by a vote of 13-7.

“A disproportionate number of people pulled over for minor traffic offenses tend to be people of color,” Hope said during the committee meeting on Wednesday. “This is a contributor to the higher incarceration rate among minorities.”

Fairfax Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano said during Wednesday’s meeting that when people feel they are being targeted by the police, they’re less likely to report crimes or act as witnesses in prosecutions. He said ending such traffic stops is necessary to reform the criminal justice system and make communities safer. 

“Reforming our criminal justice system means bringing back legitimacy to it,” Descano said.

Written by Andrew Ringle, Capital News Service.

Marijuana Reform Advocates Divided Between Decriminalization And Legalization

VCU CNS | January 17, 2020

Topics: Adam ebbin, American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia, chelsea higgs wise, Jennifer Carroll Foy, Marijuana, marijuana decriminalization, Marijuana Justice, Marijuana laws in Virginia, marijuana legalization, marijuana reform in Virginia, Mark Herring, RISE for Youth

Advocates may not agree about whether decriminalization or outright legalization is the correct path for Virginia marijuana legislation. But they’re united in the belief that the state’s current laws must change.

Advocates dressed in black stood Wednesday at the base of the Virginia Civil Rights Memorial to voice their support of marijuana legalization, repeating a variation of “the time is now” in each of their statements. 

Participants dressed in black “in order to stand in solidarity with the black and brown bodies that have been criminalized for decades here in the commonwealth,” said Chelsea Higgs Wise, co-founder of Marijuana Justice, a Virginia-based nonprofit organization that aims to educate people on the history of cannabis criminalization in the U.S. 

The American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia, along with Marijuana Justice and RISE for Youth, a campaign committed to promoting alternatives to youth incarceration, held a press conference promoting House Bill 1507, patroned by Del. Jennifer Carroll Foy, D-Prince William. 

“Lean on your legislators and make sure that they understand the effort to legalize marijuana is here and we’re bringing it to your front door, because now is the time to fully have criminal justice reform in a meaningful way,” Carroll Foy said. 

Del. Joshua Cole addresses the press about the racial effects of marijuana prohibition. Photo by Emma Gauthier

The bill wants to exclude marijuana from a list of controlled substances that are illegal to possess. Under current law, less than half an ounce of marijuana is considered a class one misdemeanor.

A “first offender’s rule” is offered on first convictions in lieu of class one misdemeanor penalties. The rule includes probation, drug testing and community service. Subsequent convictions are punishable by up to one year in jail and a maximum fine of $2,500.

Possession of more than half an ounce of marijuana is by law considered an intent to distribute and is charged as a felony, punishable by one to 10 years in prison. 

Capital News Service reported that in 2018, the only offenses more common than marijuana possession were traffic-related, such as speeding or reckless driving. Marijuana arrests that year were at their highest level in at least 20 years, with nearly 29,000 arrests. 

“Arrests for marijuana possession are significantly higher for blacks and people of color, even though data has shown that there is no higher rate usage with people of color than there are with white people,” said Del. Joshua Cole, D-Stafford, chief co-patron of HB 1507. “But yet we are constantly the ones that are taking the brunt of this.” 

Virginia State Police arrested more white people (25,306) for drug violations in 2018 than African Americans (20,712). While African Americans make up 19 percent of Virginia’s population, they consisted of nearly half of all marijuana convictions in 2018, according to a Capital News Service analysis of court records. Carroll Foy said that African Americans are three times more likely than any other race to be stopped, arrested and convicted for possession of marijuana. 

Nine other bills have been introduced this session relating to the possession of marijuana. Some propose legalization, while others propose decriminalization. Although the terms are used interchangeably at times, the two carry dramatically different meanings. 

Bills similar to HB 1507, like HB 87 and HB 269, propose the legalization of marijuana, which would lift existing laws that prohibit possession of the substance. 

Senate Bill 2, patroned by Sen. Adam Ebbin, D-Alexandria, HB 972, patroned by Del. Charniele Herring, D-Alexandria, and several other bills propose the decriminalization of marijuana. These bills would impose a $50 fee for consuming or possessing marijuna. Ebbin’s bill would raise the threshold amount of marijuana subject to distribution or possession with intent to distribute from one-half ounce to one ounce. Herring’s bill would impose a $250 fee if the offender was consuming marijuana in public. However, the drug would remain illegal.

Advocates at the press conference support the legalization of marijuana in the commonwealth. Photo by Emma Gauthier

The ACLU said last week at a press conference that decriminalization and civil offenses still hold and create a number of issues — someone who wants to contest the citation would have to do so without a lawyer, and those who cannot afford to pay upfront would have to go to court, which usually includes more costs and fees. The group instead wants to see a full repeal of the prohibition on marijuana.

Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring took part in a cannabis conference Sunday and voiced his support for marijuana reform. 

“It’s clear time for cannabis reform has come,” Herring said. “Justice demands it, Virginians are demanding it, and I’m going to make sure we get it done.”

Ashna Khanna, legislative director of the ACLU of Virginia, said they have confirmed Herring’s support of HB 1507. The organization, along with 11 others, sent a letter to Gov. Ralph Northam requesting support of legislation to legalize marijuana, and hope that he will be open to meeting with them soon.

Written by Emma Gauthier, Capital News Service. Top Photo: Del. Jennifer Carroll Foy expresses the urgency of HB 1507. Photo by Emma Gauthier.

Speaking Truth: The Art Of Intersectional Feminism

Sydney Lake | April 4, 2019

Topics: chelsea higgs wise, Cheyenne Varner, intersectional feminism, Intersectional Wonder Womxn Art Show, Kortenay Gardiner, Ngiste Abebe, Studio Two Three, Sylvia Mallory

The second annual Intersectional Wonder Womxn Art Show will bring an intersectional lens to the world of feminist art at Studio Two Three next month.

There’s a wonder woman in all of us, and the perfect way to realize and celebrate this is coming next month.

The second annual Intersectional Wonder Womxn Art Show Vol. 2: Truthsayer will celebrate women of all backgrounds through creative expression at Studio Two Three in Scott’s Addition on May 23. Powered by the energy of Richmond women of varied experiences, the art show will recognize inner strength and bring important voices to the table.

Co-chairs emeritus Sylvia Mallory and Kortenay Gardiner proudly passed the planning torch to Chelsea Higgs Wise and Ngiste Abebe this year, based on their dedication to deep conversations surrounding intersectional feminism.

Abebe

“Chelsea and Ngiste were the perfect duo,” Mallory said. “Chelsea loves to go after and be very vocal. She is a force to reckon with. Ngiste works in politics and knows the inside of the system. And so, the two of them and these two kinds of voices are so imperative.”

Bringing voice and understanding to intersectional feminism is critical to the event.

“Intersectional feminism is the idea that understanding needs to prefix the word feminism,” Wise said. “Our traditional values of feminism are rooted in white, cis women. The idea of putting intersectional as a prefix is really opening up the idea that feminism is inclusive of race, gender, ability, intellectuality, and any part of our identity that can really uplift people as humans.”

Wise

Although Wise is not an artist herself, she and the other co-chairs of the event work to raise up artists in the community in order to redefine the narrative of feminism.

Through a variety of art pieces, participants last year interpreted intersectional feminism through tapestry paintings, sculptures, and handmade bracelets.

“Oftentimes a visual as storytelling can be just as important as the things you say,” Mallory said. “You get to step into somebody else’s shoes and how they’re expressing that narrative. I get chills just thinking about it.”

This year, intersectional feminism has been further defined to encapsulate truth surrounding the subject. With the theme of “Truthsayer,” participants are charged to share their truth and use the platform of the event to enlighten guests about things they may not be recognizing in within their own communities.

One of those things is human trafficking. Richmond is among the top 20 cities in the nation for human trafficking, Mallory said. Inspired by this and personal experience with the group, the co-chairs of the Intersectional Wonder Womxn Art Show selected Safe Harbor as the beneficiary for the event.

Safe Harbor provides services for survivors of human trafficking, sexual assault, and other domestic abuse. Survivors are offered counseling and housing, among other resources.

“I always say it can happen to any of us,” Gardiner said. “That’s why intersectional feminism made so much sense to me.”

With an underlying theme of superpower and inner strength, Mallory and Gardiner’s first event in April 2018 garnered over $5,500 for Safe Harbor, between sponsors, donations, and art purchases. Some survivors were able to attend the show, with one survivor showcasing their work.

“In the last year, I really dove into the idea of creative, artistic expression with women,” Wise said. “I say a lot of direct truths. That’s what these women were really hoping to do this year.”

Photo by Vanessa Selik

As a guest last year, Wise noted the energy and celebratory nature that artists and guests alike brought to The Hof, where last year’s event was held. It was a space to be among other people, focus on individual artwork, and have conversation, she said. Gardiner echoed the energizing power of the discussions held last year.

Women across all spaces are invited to participate. Whether it means submitting art for the show, volunteering time, or attending as a guest, there are many ways to get involved. The success of the event last year was thanks to the diversity of artists, the volunteers who helped, and the fact that everyone was in it for Safe Harbor, Mallory said.

Those interested in volunteering for the event are invited to complete a survey to evaluate areas of expertise, amount of time one is able to volunteer, and intersectionality.

Photo by Vanessa Selik

“Bring your skills to bear,” Gardiner said. “Bring them to us.”

These skills extend to artists who wish to participate as well. Artists may submit work through April 30 to be considered for the art show. Once submitted, co-chairs go through and process the intersectionality of the pieces to ensure that the artist or creators represent the values they’re looking for, Mallory said.

“It’s part of our job in that community to be sure that artists have that space to do that,” Wise said about amplifying artists as part of the intersectional feminist ecosystem. “Feminism isn’t just about raising a gender, it’s about raising humanity.”

Varner

Women such as Cheyenne Varner of Everyday Birth have already donated their talents to the cause. Varner, a doula who champions the idea of supporting all women in birth, created the promotional poster for the event.

The artwork illustrates the intersections of the truthsayer’s body through use of different skin tones to match different textures of the world, Mallory said.

“As soon as I reached out to her about doing this, she immediately wanted to make this happen,” Mallory said. “She really took our vision to life about being able to amplify women in this community.”

The show itself will come to life on Thursday, May 23 from 6 to 8:30 PM at Studio Two Three, located at 3300 W. Clay St in Scott’s Addition. The cost of admission is $10, with 100 percent of the proceeds going to Safe Harbor. For more info, visit wonderwomenartshow.com.

Top photo: Gardiner, Mallory, Abebe, Wise

Inside the Heating Crisis at Richmond’s Courts

David Streever | January 10, 2018

Topics: chelsea higgs wise, Creigton Court, Fairfield Court, Gilpin Court, heat crisis, housing activism, housing authority, housing courts, omari kadaffi, Richmond public housing, whitcomb court, Wickham Court

A heating crisis in Richmond’s public housing has local families struggling to stay warm during this brutally cold winter. Residents alleged decades of mismanagement by the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority, which was created in 1940 to administer and manage housing for low-income city residents.

Sha Randa Taylor in front of her unheated apartment

“Welcome to poverty,” Sha Randa Taylor said, inviting us into her home in Creighton Court. Like her neighbors, Taylor’s home was neat and tidy, but suffered from neglect and maintenance problems that she says haven’t been resolved. The 31-year-old was born in Highland Park, in the Northside neighborhood of Richmond, and works as a nurse, which makes her monthly rent $800 for a unit she can’t live in due to heat and health issues. She’s lived in public housing for the first time over this last year after a high-risk pregnancy and subchorionic hematomas temporarily took her out of work, resulting in an eviction.

Taylor said the whole block of housing was out of heat. “Touch the walls, they’re cold,” she said. Even bundled up for outdoors, her house was uncomfortably chilly. She was our last visit on a tour of four Richmond housing courts, led by local activists Omari Kadaffi and Chelsea Higgs Wise. The two have been highlighting unbearable living conditions citywide and working with residents to improve conditions.

For Taylor, and the other families we met, it’s not just the heat. We saw evidence of a rodent infestation at Taylor’s home despite her clean floors, carefully packaged food, and minimal furniture, and she said her doctor told her the rodent droppings are making her sick.

Chelsea-Higgs Wise and Omari Kadaffi

Like many of the people we visited, she’s been staying with family to stay warm, and is deeply unhappy with the authority. “They laughed at me,” she said, detailing an earlier visit to the rental office, during which workers called the police on her before they finally agreed to give her two space heaters, which were delivered during our visit.

In Kadaffi’s words, it’s “planned blight,” a view he supports by running through the history of public housing in America. Lowest bidder construction and placement on the other side of highway systems that cut across cities set the stage for isolated, low-quality, walled-in living conditions. Recent mismanagement at RRHA saw the authority slapped with a $6.5 million bill for ineligible or inappropriate spending, and news reports have covered years of financial impropriety at the office.

Although the issue is bigger than just heat, the crisis is the immediate concern. Reached by phone, Councilman Parker Agelasto said the problem hadn’t been treated with appropriate urgency. “I asked the RRHA leadership why this was never treated as an emergency case,” Agelasto said. “Let’s get it fixed, treat it as an emergency, and get it repaired.”

“They’ve come and asked for funding for construction, but not for heating. Since the last week of October, 72 percent of the days have been cold enough to open the cold weather overflow shelter–if the city can do that on an emergency basis, why has RRHA not treated heating for its residents on an emergency basis?”

The Richmond NAACP had the same question, which they’ve discussed on conference calls, at a rally Monday night, and in a general meeting on Tuesday. 

Local NAACP president James “J.J.” Minor said, “We’re demanding a full accounting and timeline of the situation.” He shared plans for an official letter and a town hall meeting they’ll organize over the next ten days. The group anticipates bringing together some 400 residents and activists to put pressure on RRHA to prevent another heating crisis, and Minor says they will request a detailed analysis of infrastructure problems and a proposal to fix them in a timely fashion.

For their part, RRHA claimed that senior management didn’t know about the issue until October 2017, but admitted that lower-level staff members knew about the problem sooner. NAACP meeting attendees were skeptical and unhappy with the response, which has largely consisted of 2-3 space heaters per unit and offers of hotel rooms to only a small number of those affected.

Minor invited Lt. William Andrews of the Richmond Fire Department to speak to the safety and proper use of space heaters. “Electric space heaters should be for short-term usage or just supplementary,” Andrews said, confirming the fears of attendees. “These heaters aren’t for overnight use.” He also highlighted the high energy usage of the heaters. A single heater takes up most of the power on a single circuit, a big problem when a small home with only a few circuits needs three to maintain heat.

If that’s the solution RRHA proposes, it seems to have left many in the cold. It’s been reported that seven of 49 families offered the opportunity to relocate have accepted, and some residents in Creighton Court were offered free hotel stays by Shamin Hotels, but of the residents we spoke with, none were offered hotels or enough heaters to warm their house. Although Creighton has been the focus for many local media outlets, we found units in Gilpin, Fairfield, and Whitcomb courts that also didn’t have adequate heat.

Jennings and children

Michelle Jennings, an author and behavioral specialist living in Gilpin Court, said a maintenance worker lectured her for using her oven for heat when they finally got to her house. “He says, ‘you’re not supposed to do that.’ ‘Well, I got little ones here, and it’s cold,” she said. She had space heaters, but they were taken away just before the cold snap.

Jennings is one of many residents on an interactive map Kadaffi maintains, listing 39 units in addition to the known problems at the 54 units in Creighton. As we visited the people on this map, we found the same problem citywide.

Scott and his children

Madison Scott was one of those residents. Scott lives in Fairfield Court with his three children, but he’s had to send them to relatives on the coldest days, splitting up his family while he sleeps in the unheated unit. “They tell me they just don’t have the money to fix the heat,” he said showing us the gas oven he uses for heat. Like other tenants we met, he invited us to feel how cold the radiators were.

In Whitcomb Court, Latoi Lyle said neither her oven nor her heat have worked since she moved in a year and a half ago. The oven leaked gas, a problem that took RRHA two weeks to look at after the Fire Department shut it off for safety, but one they still haven’t fixed. They’ve come out several times for the heat.

“The heat comes on after they come, but it shuts off after 30 minutes,” she said, noting that she’s stopped calling them because while the workers are nice, they never fix anything, and she has to pay fees for their visits.

Multiple attempts to reach RRHA for comment ended when I was transferred to full voicemail systems. The scope of the problem is currently unknown but seems widespread, and Kadaffi points to an official statement from RRHA CEO T.K. Somanath detailing problems in some 3,000 units that need to be addressed.

Tyler at the Monday rally

Many activists are unhappy with Somanath, including Maurice Tyler, one of the organizers of a rally that drew nearly one hundred concerned citizens to the doorstep of the RRHA offices on a cold, rainy Monday night.

At the NAACP meeting, Tyler was unequivocal about Somanath. “He got to go,” he said, adding, “It’s not about him personally, it’s about doing the job. How many games do you have to lose before you realize it’s your coach that’s failing?” Like many at the NAACP meeting, Tyler told me he wanted to see a proactive approach with an increase in oversight of the RRHA.

A proactive approach is exactly what political leaders are calling for too, from Congressman Donald McEachin’s official statement to my conversation with Agelasto today.

“You can’t simply focus on future construction,” Agelasto said. “And that’s a concern we have across the board, with schools and city buildings too. We need to build but we also need to maintain our buildings. These are partnerships and there needs to be accountability.”

If RRHA can stick to its current timeline, residents can expect to have heat again by Feb. 12, but long-term issues remain. “Nobody that I’ve talked to has ever had fully operational heat,” Kadaffi said, in a final call before press time. “Doesn’t matter if they’ve lived there 11 years or 25 years, they’ve always had to use their ovens to heat their houses when it gets cold.”

“I do have confidence that they’ll do the best they can right now because it’s become a very big issue,” he said. But he said the only solution involved Somanath’s replacement.

“We will not accept any plan going forward that doesn’t include a full leadership change,” he said. “T.K. [Somanath] tried to blame the maintenance people yesterday, but there’s no way that other people didn’t know. Maybe he didn’t know, but others did. We need to clear out the corruption.”

*Photos by Landon Shroder

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