‘4/20 bill’ aims to reduce incarcerations related to marijuana possession
CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - One of the sponsors of a bill that would yearly pardon some inmates convicted of simple marijuana possession says he hopes the bill will clear out the jails.
Along with the pardons, the bill, introduced by State Rep. JA Moore (D-Berkeley, Charleston) and co-sponsored by Rep. Bill Herbkersman (R-Beaufort), would remove the simple possession charge from their permanent record.
House Bill 4358 focuses on pardoning 20% of inmates convicted of simple marijuana possession every year on 4/20.
Simple procession of marijuana in South Carolina means someone is accused of possessing 28 grams or less, according to South Carolina Judicial Department.
“We need to make sure that people that are doing petty crimes, like simple possession of marijuana, aren’t filling up our justice system; we need to save those spaces for violent criminals or people that are victimizing our community,” Moore says.
South Carolina had the second-highest marijuana possession arrest rate in the nation back in 2018, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.
Lawyer Roy T. Willey with the Anastopoulo Law Firm says the first offense is a fine or jail for no more than 30 days, but the second offense can include a larger fine and longer jail time.
“The immediate thing is if they’re in jail, and they get out, that’s a good thing for them, but the longer lasting impact is actually the pardon that removes it from their record,” Willey says. “They would have been pardoned from that offense, so it doesn’t hold it against them for the rest of their life.”
In South Carolina, Black people are 3.5 times more likely than white people to be arrested for marijuana possession in 2020, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.
“This is about what can we do to fix a broken criminal justice system that too often disproportionately incarcerate young people number one, people of color or people without resources to get the legal help that they need number two,” Moore says.
Earlier this year, the bill to legalize medical marijuana in South Carolina fell short. Right now, 21 states have legalized marijuana for recreational use and 38 have ed laws to legalize medical marijuana.
“Legalizing it in the future would make sure that nobody else would be charged with it, but it doesn’t necessarily help people that have already been convicted,” Willey says. “This bill is more geared towards helping those people that have already been convicted.”
The bill has been introduced and referred to the House Judiciary Committee.
“This is an issue that all of us should care about,” Moore says. “Whether you’re an attorney, business owner, young person, we do not need to be criminalizing people or putting people into the system for simple possession of marijuana.”
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