Support The Georgia Campaign for Access, Reform & Education
The Georgia Campaign for Access, Reform, & Education Project (C.A.R.E. Project) held a press conference today to announce the campaign’s mission. If I get video footage of the press conference, I’ll update this article. Below is information from their press release:
Atlanta, Ga.: A new push to reform Georgia’s marijuana (Cannabis) laws will kick off next week as lawmakers consider criminal justice reform measures.
The Georgia Campaign for Access, Reform & Education or Ga. C.A.R.E. Project, will host a press conference at the Georgia state capitol Monday, December 17 – 11am to announce the campaign’s mission. A project of the Georgia Taxpayers Alliance, founders James Bell and Ron Williams have supported and advocated for law reform for 25 years.
James Bell, 53, said this is the first time in the 25 years Georgia has considered law reform legislation and the time is right to focus on the state’s antiquated marijuana laws.
“We applaud Gov. Nathan Deal and the legislature for their courageous efforts to reform ineffective and costly laws we can no longer afford to sustain”, Bell said. “Decades of “get tough on drugs” legislation has cost taxpayers billions and has done little to solve real crime problems.”
The Georgia C.A.R.E. Project’s agenda will focus on a four point plan to;
- Establish a special study committee to focus specifically on marijuana laws;
- Reschedule the classification of marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule II or lower;
- Modernize Georgia’s medical marijuana access laws to allow for legal medical marijuana by doctor prescription or recommendation;
- Decriminalize a personal use amount to eliminate prosecution and incarceration;
Ron Williams, a reform activist, said 18 states have allowed medical marijuana and two state have now legalized personal use amounts.
“Those states have led the way to show that we can decriminalize and medicalize marijuana and bring this substance under regulation and control without affecting public safety and save taxpayers dollars. It’s time to focus on this issue.”
The campaign has set up an educational website and Facebook page to connect with the public, media and lawmakers.
