Advocacy Group Demands Release of Cannabis Prisoners in Wake of Coronavirus Outbreak

Article by Emma Spears, Growth Op

Cannabis amnesty advocacy group, The Last Prisoner Project (LPP), has posted a video from founder Steve DeAngelo alongside a written statement calling for the immediate release of prisoners convicted of cannabis-related crimes amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Mass incarceration has left prisons and jails highly susceptible to an outbreak given overcrowding, lack of resources and little access to medical care,” noted the statement. “To address this situation, public officials need to take steps to reduce overcrowding and ensure access to medical care,” it added.

Releasing prisoners incarcerated on cannabis charges would reduce the population and better facilitate social distancing measures in the remaining population, DeAngelo argued.

The LPP has compiled a list of measures that authorities should follow immediately to help mitigate the effect of the highly contagious virus among the prisoner population. The measures include the following:

• putting prisoners over the age of 65 on parole, prioritizing those who are at the highest risk of contracting the virus;
• identifying prisoners who are scheduled for release within the next six months, removing them from prison and placing them in home confinement for the remainder of their sentences;
• reducing the direct supervision of prisoners to enable social distancing;
• providing free phone calls and “smart visitations” for all prisoners;
• suspending medical visit co-pays for incarcerated people; and
• releasing all prisoners convicted of cannabis-related crimes.

DeAngelo said that controlling the spread is extremely difficult in prisons, leading to a terrifying experience for incarcerated individuals in the midst of the outbreak.

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