Lebanon becomes first Arab country to legalize cannabis farming for medical use
Cannabis has long been illegally farmed in the fertile Bekaa Valley and government now hopes to turn it into a legal billion-dollar trade
Prison justice
L.A. County district attorney wipes 66,000 marijuana convictions
The move, which comes years after California voters legalized weed, reverses decades of drug enforcement that disproportionately targeted people of color — who then faced barriers in finding housing and jobs and enrolling in school.
Illinois governor clears thousands of marijuana convictions
Illinois’ governor granted more than 11,000 pardons for low-level marijuana convictions, describing the step as a first wave of thousands of such expungements.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy restores voting rights for 80,000 on probation or parole
“I am proud to sign one of the most progressive expungement laws in the nation, which will allow more New Jerseyans the opportunity to fully engage in our society,” Murphy said.
JPMorgan to hire more people with criminal backgrounds
“When someone cannot get their foot in the door to compete for a job, it is bad for business and bad for communities that need access to economic opportunity,” said JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon.
All banking partners to private prison leader GEO Group to stop funding private prisons
Eight major banks have announced their commitment to ending their support of the immigration detention center and private prison industry.
California bans private prisons
The legislation is being hailed as a major victory for criminal justice reform because it removes the profit motive from incarceration.
Mexican judge approves recreational cocaine use in historic step to ending country’s “War on Drugs”
Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has argued the country should decriminalize all drugs in order to take power away from the cartels and criminal gangs.
PNC Bank will no longer finance private prisons that profit from mass incarceration and immigrant detention
This decision was announced in the wake of a petition directed at PNC circulating from the Families Belong Together coalition of over 250 activist groups, representing over 11 million people.
Denver City Council kills contracts with private prison giants
Taking an extraordinary stand against the nation’s two largest private prison companies, GEO Group and CoreCivic, Denver City Council voted not to renew contracts with them worth a cumulative $10.6 million.