American basketball participant Brittney Griner was been sentenced on Thursday to 9 years in Russian jail after being discovered responsible of possessing hashish vape cartridges.
The case has captured worldwide consideration, positioned strain on the White Home to safe her launch and prompted calls from advocates and lawmakers to reform U.S. marijuana legal guidelines that equally criminalize individuals over hashish.
In a press release on Thursday, President Joe Biden mentioned that Griner’s sentencing “is yet one more reminder of what the world already knew: Russia is wrongfully detaining Brittney.” The State Division categorised Griner as a “wrongfully detained” particular person and maintained that designation even after she pleaded responsible to the hashish possession cost.
“It’s unacceptable, and I name on Russia to launch her instantly so she could be along with her spouse, family members, associates, and teammates,” Biden said. “My administration will proceed to work tirelessly and pursue each attainable avenue to convey Brittney and Paul Whelan [who is serving a 16-year sentence over alleged espionage in Russia] residence safely as quickly as attainable.”
Assertion by President Joe Biden on the Sentencing of Wrongfully Detained American Brittney Griner: https://t.co/LaGPbGwNFU
— Karine Jean-Pierre (@PressSec) August 4, 2022
Whereas a majority of states have legalized marijuana in some kind, together with Arizona the place Griner is a registered medical hashish affected person, federal legislation nonetheless strictly prohibits marijuana. A primary offense for possession of any quantity of hashish underneath federal prison code is punishable by as much as one 12 months in jail, with sentences rising for subsequence offenses.
However whereas U.S. legislation won’t be as extreme, or enforced as persistently, advocates argue that Griner’s case demonstrates the pressing want for federal marijuana reform, even when it won’t straight have an effect on the athlete’s abroad case. Russian officers have been unwilling to simply accept a prisoner swap that U.S. officers have reportedly floated, which might contain releasing Griner in trade for a convicted Russian arms seller.
“At this time’s sentencing of Griner underscores the necessity for home hashish reform,” Martiza Perez, director of the workplace of federal affairs on the Drug Coverage Alliance, informed Marijuana Second. “The U.S. is answerable for exporting the drug struggle throughout the globe. It nonetheless arrests, incarcerates, and deports individuals for low-level hashish arrests and convictions.”
“This makes it extremely difficult to guard U.S. residents overseas. We can not stand on an ethical or authorized excessive floor as a result of we don’t have it,” Perez mentioned. “The US should finish marijuana prohibition and treatment the harms of mass hashish criminalization.”
Russian officers have strongly contested the U.S. characterization of the appropriateness of Griner’s prosecution. A spokesperson for the International Ministry went as far as to level out that the U.S. place is considerably hypocritical provided that individuals are nonetheless criminalized over hashish in each international locations.
At her sentencing listening to, Griner pleaded with the choose to not “finish her life” over the hashish offense, saying she “made an sincere mistake,” according to Reuters.
“It’s a tragic state of affairs that Brittney Griner is a political pawn to one of many few international locations that criminalize hashish extra closely than the USA,” Justin Strekal, founding father of the BOWL PAC, informed Marijuana Second. “As President Biden continues to declare Griner wrongfully detained, he ought to take steps to uncouple the actual fact each the U.S. and Russia incarcerate People for hashish possession.”
Steven Hawkins, CEO of the U.S. Hashish Council, referred to as Griner a “political prisoner” and saying he sentence is “an outrage.”
However he additionally informed Marijuana Second that’s needs to be a “wakeup name for People.”
“Her trial and sentence in Russia could appear to be an outlier at a time of sweeping acceptance and legalization, however it isn’t. Hashish stays unlawful and possession is harshly punished around the globe. The US isn’t any exception,” he mentioned, pointing to a current Mississippi Supreme Courtroom ruling upholding a life sentence for a hashish possession cost.
“1000’s of People are in jail at this second for hashish expenses,” Hawkins mentioned. “We name on President Biden to get Griner residence safely and clear up our personal affairs by granting a blanket pardon for hashish offenses and inspiring state and native expungement efforts.”
Whereas Biden has taken no significant steps to decriminalize marijuana or broadly free hashish prisoners as he promised on the marketing campaign path, he did make his first public touch upon marijuana coverage since taking workplace final month, reiterating that he doesn’t consider individuals needs to be incarcerated over the plant.
However even with the chief authority to grant mass pardons to individuals with federal hashish convictions, the administration continues to be within the means of exploring its clemency choices, White Home Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre mentioned final week.
“A sentence of 9 years for possession of a minuscule quantity of hashish product—clearly with out ‘prison intent’—is a travesty, however not particularly shocking,” NORML Political Director Morgan Fox informed Marijuana Second. “Brittney Griner is clearly getting used as a political pawn, and as such has develop into one more sufferer of the worldwide struggle on hashish customers which has been largely perpetuated by her residence nation.”
“The chickens of prohibition are coming residence to roost, and folks like Brittney Griner are paying the value.”
Nina Turner, a former Ohio state lawmakers and congressional candidate, mentioned that Biden should do all that he can to safe Griner’s launch in mild of the tough sentencing, and he should additionally “appropriate that injustice right here in America, too.”
Brittney Griner being sentenced to 9 years in jail over hashish is egregious.@POTUS should do every part in his energy to get her again to the US.
He additionally should appropriate that injustice right here in America, too. Far too many individuals are locked up over non-violent drug offenses.
— Nina Turner (@ninaturner) August 4, 2022
“Far too many individuals are locked up over non-violent drug offenses,” she mentioned.
Derek Kitchen, a Democratic state senator in Utah mentioned that “marijuana propaganda and disinformation has led to inappropriate criminalization of pure medication around the globe.”
Completely terrible. Marijuana propaganda and disinformation has led to inappropriate criminalization of pure medication around the globe. Now #britneygriner is paying the value behind bars in Russia. She deserves to come back residence. https://t.co/51Ph4zVY4k
— Senator Derek Kitchen (@derekkitchen) August 4, 2022
“Now [Griner] is paying the value behind bars in Russia,” he mentioned. “She deserves to come back residence.”
Whereas Biden solely talked about Griner and Whelan by title in Thursday’s assertion, a senior administration official additionally just lately mentioned that they’re actively wanting into one other case of a U.S. citizen, Mark Fogel, who’s being held in Russia over a marijuana-related offense to see if the administration can safe his launch.
Fogel has not been designated as a “wrongfully detained” particular person at this level, nonetheless. That classification usually escalates diplomatic engagement to safe a U.S. citizen’s launch.
There are a number of elements that may lead the U.S. to categorise somebody as such, so it’s attainable that officers haven’t based mostly the Griner designation on the query of innocence of guilt, per se. It might be the case that they consider she is being held for political causes as Russia faces worldwide condemnation over its invasion of Ukraine.
Russia has taken a very sturdy stance in opposition to reforming hashish coverage on the worldwide degree by the United Nations. And it condemned Canada for legalizing marijuana nationwide.
The deputy of Russia’s Ministry of International Affairs mentioned in March that legalization efforts within the U.S. and Canada are issues “of significant concern for us,” in keeping with a social media submit from the workplace’s official account. “It’s worrisome that a number of Member States of the [European Union] are contemplating violating their drug management obligations.”
Picture component courtesy of Lorie Shaull/Wikimedia.