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https://www.themarysue.com/oregon-just-decriminalized-all-drugs/
There’s some really good news coming out of Oregon this election as Oregonians voted to make their state the first in the country to decriminalize all drugs and also legalized the therapeutic use of psilocybin therapy. Both measures 110 and 109 passed in the state with strong support and will mean some big changes in the way the state prosecutes drug crimes.
Measure 110 decriminalized all drugs, which isn’t the same as making them legal. The passage of the measure means that possession of certain smaller amounts of currently illegal drugs will have no criminal penalty, and that includes no prison time. Those found with the drugs will face either a $100 fine or will be given the option to get a “completed health assessment” at an addiction recovery center. The sale of drugs is still illegal and, as noted, this only applies to small amounts, so dealers carrying large amounts of drugs can still be prosecuted. These addiction centers and drug recovery programs will be funded by taxes on marijuana, which is legal in the state.
This is a big step in ending the use of prisons and jails as default treatment centers and centers the drug crisis on public health instead. Supporters of the measure claim that its passage will end thousands of unnecessarily and racially disproportionate arrests in Oregon each year and decrease mass incarceration, And doing so will hopefully also free up resources in the criminal justice system to use resources in a better way.
The passage of this is a big deal and as an Oregonian myself, I hope it works as intended. As someone who has worked in the Oregon justice system, I certainly didn’t see that the criminal penalties we had were effective deterrents, I only saw them weaponized against people of color.
The second drug measure to pass is also a first in the nation experiment, allowing for the legalization and the study of therapeutic uses of psilocybin. Psilocybin is the psychoactive chemical found in so-called “magic mushrooms,” and its use in treating addiction, trauma, and other mental issues has huge potential. Psychadelic “trips” allow people to confront and process their anxieties, depression, and addiction. This is a big step towards a better understanding of how these substances work and how they can help people.
Overall this was a good day for drug laws in Oregon, as voters slowly chipped away at the walls set up in the failed and disastrous war on drugs. Walls that were set up with an idea of protection, but were too high and too thick and in the end resulted in disproportionately harming people of color while doing nothing to stop addiction and abuse, which is rampant in America. Hopefully, this is a turning point in all these fights.
(via Vox, image: Pexels)
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There’s some really good news coming out of Oregon this election as Oregonians voted to make their state the first in the country to decriminalize all drugs and also legalized the therapeutic use of psilocybin therapy. Both measures 110 and 109 passed in the state with strong support and will mean some big changes in the way the state prosecutes drug crimes.
Measure 110 decriminalized all drugs, which isn’t the same as making them legal. The passage of the measure means that possession of certain smaller amounts of currently illegal drugs will have no criminal penalty, and that includes no prison time. Those found with the drugs will face either a $100 fine or will be given the option to get a “completed health assessment” at an addiction recovery center. The sale of drugs is still illegal and, as noted, this only applies to small amounts, so dealers carrying large amounts of drugs can still be prosecuted. These addiction centers and drug recovery programs will be funded by taxes on marijuana, which is legal in the state.
This is a big step in ending the use of prisons and jails as default treatment centers and centers the drug crisis on public health instead. Supporters of the measure claim that its passage will end thousands of unnecessarily and racially disproportionate arrests in Oregon each year and decrease mass incarceration, And doing so will hopefully also free up resources in the criminal justice system to use resources in a better way.
The passage of this is a big deal and as an Oregonian myself, I hope it works as intended. As someone who has worked in the Oregon justice system, I certainly didn’t see that the criminal penalties we had were effective deterrents, I only saw them weaponized against people of color.
The second drug measure to pass is also a first in the nation experiment, allowing for the legalization and the study of therapeutic uses of psilocybin. Psilocybin is the psychoactive chemical found in so-called “magic mushrooms,” and its use in treating addiction, trauma, and other mental issues has huge potential. Psychadelic “trips” allow people to confront and process their anxieties, depression, and addiction. This is a big step towards a better understanding of how these substances work and how they can help people.
Overall this was a good day for drug laws in Oregon, as voters slowly chipped away at the walls set up in the failed and disastrous war on drugs. Walls that were set up with an idea of protection, but were too high and too thick and in the end resulted in disproportionately harming people of color while doing nothing to stop addiction and abuse, which is rampant in America. Hopefully, this is a turning point in all these fights.
(via Vox, image: Pexels)
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—The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.—
By Kimberly Wilson ·November 3, 2020November 3, 2020
It’s a new month, so you know what that means — a new batch of Black TV shows and films dropping on Netflix. With the general election serving as the backdrop for this month we’ll need anything to help take our mind off of what’s to come.
This month a few classic Black films join the streaming service, such as Woo, Two Can Play That Game and Boyz N The Hood, along with a new rom-com starring Kat Graham, a faith-based docuseries from Pharrell Williams and Bishop Ezekiel Williams and a dance documentary from Shonda Rhimes’ Shondaland.
Below, check out the new must-sees dropping on Netflix in November.
01Operation Christmas Drop – 11/5A holiday rom-com? Count us in. Chasing a promotion, congressional aide Erica Miller (Kat Graham) forgoes family Christmas to travel across the Pacific at her boss’s behest. Upon landing at a beachside Air Force base, she clashes with her guide, Captain Andrew Jantz, who knows her assignment is finding reasons to defund the facility.
Operation Christmas Drop. Alexander Ludwig as Andrew, Kat Graham as Erica in Operation Christmas Drop. Cr. Ricardo Hubbs//NETFLIX © 2020 02A New York Christmas Wedding– 11/5The film is centered on a proposed Christmas Eve wedding between Jennifer Ortiz (Nia Fairweather) and David Wilks (Otoja Abit, who also directs). Plans change when Jennifer is visited by the Angel of Death and shown the life she could have led had she not denied her true feelings for her childhood friend Gabrielle (Adriana DeMeo). 
03Citation – 11/6Based on a true story, Citation is about a student (Temi Otedola) in Nigeria takes on the academic establishment when she reports that a popular professor who tried to rape her. 
04Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey – 11/13What’s the holidays without your new favorite holiday film? Enter Jingle Jangle, starring Forest Whitaker as down-on-his-luck toymaker Jeronicus Jangle. His boss (Downton Abbey’s Hugh Bonneville) demands he come up with something good or else he’ll lose his store. When his former assistant (Keegan-Michael Key) returns to take his most prized possession—having already stolen an animate toy played by Ricky Martin—it’s up to Jangle’s granddaughter Journey (Madalen Mills) to heal old wounds and save the magic. 
JINGLE JANGLE: A CHRISTMAS JOURNEY (2020)Madalen Mills as Journey Jangle and Forest Whitaker as Jeronicus Jangle. Cr.Gareth Gatrell/NETFLIX 05Voices of Fire – 11/20Voices of Fire marks Netflix’s latest endeavor in music competition-like programming, following Rhythm + Flow. The docuseries follows Pharrell Williams as he teams with his uncle Bishop Ezekiel Williams to find skillful singers in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia. The goal is simple: establish a successful gospel choir composed of vocalists from Pharrell’s hometown. 
VOICES OF FIRE (L to R) BISHOP EZEKIEL WILLIAMS AND PHARRELL WILLIAMS in VOICES OF FIRE. Cr. ANTONY PLATT/NETFLIX © 2020 06Dance Dreams: Hot Chocolate Nutcracker – 11/27This Shondaland production follows Debbie Allen and her group of dancers as they get ready for their annual production of Hot Chocolate Nutcracker. Debbie Allen dancing and bringing us joy? Yes, please! 
Debbie Allen with dancer, Kylie Jfferson in Dance Dreams: Hot Chocolate Nutcracker. c. Courtesy of Netflix/2020 The post Here’s Everything New Dropping On Netflix This November appeared first on Essence.
If there’s anything that sums up the nightmare-level stress and ping-ponging emotions of 2016’s election night, it’s the New York Times’ needle. Even now, just thinking about that semi-circular chart with its prediction needle swinging wildly from red to blue every time some new precinct data was made available makes my chest contract and my jaw lock up. (The only thing worse is the memory of when the needle stopped bouncing.)
if you show me an election needle i will fucking kill you
— Brandy Jensen (@BrandyLJensen) November 2, 2020
The needle will be back in 2020 but, luckily, with one big difference: There will be no national needle. Instead, there will be needles for only three states: Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina. These are three states that, according to the Times, have experience counting absentee ballots quickly, their polls close relatively early, and they report their results “in unmatched detail.”
As major battleground states, these three also offer a pretty solid idea of where the election as a whole is likely to end up, says the Times. Basically, if Biden wins even one of them, his chances of winning overall are really high. If Trump wins all three of them, it’s a toss-up.
That’s because this election will see a massive number of mail-in ballots that will dramatically change whatever results come in from in-person voters. (That’s also the reason why the New York Times isn’t subjecting us to a national needle–there’s just too much that’s going to change.)
And since the majority of people who have voted early either in person or by mail are expected to lean heavily toward Biden, that means that if he also wins any of these battleground states in terms of in-person day-of voting, it’s pretty much a lock in his favor. If Trump wins, those mail-in votes could still flip everything on its head.
Which is, of course, exactly why Trump and his supporters are working so hard to make sure those mail-in ballots aren’t counted.
(via New York Times, image: NYT)
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