Thor Benson / Cannabis News Box Contributor

A bill in Iowa’s legislature would make the state’s cannabis laws less harsh, but as the AP reports, it’s facing some opposition. The bill would change possession of 5 grams or less of cannabis from a “serious misdemeanor” to a “simple misdemeanor” for people who are being charged for the first time. That means sentences would be less for those who are charged.

The ACLU of Iowa is supporting this bill, because it argues the bill would reduce the number of minorities being sent to prison in the state. As is well known by now, the War on Drugs has disproportional targeted people of color despite the fact they use drugs like cannabis at the same rates as whites.

“This legislation would be a step in the right direction to address the important problem of racial disparities in our criminal justice system,” Veronica Fowler, communications director for the ACLU of Iowa, told Cannabis News Box. “Iowa ranks worst in the country in the racial disparities associated with arrests for marijuana possession.” A 2013 ACLU report found “a black person in Iowa is more than 8 times as likely to be arrested for possession than a white person, despite equal usage rates.”

The bill is facing opposition from the Iowa Peace Officers Association and the Iowa State Police Association. This has sparked a debate over what is motivating police officers to favor harsher drug laws.

“It’s also interesting to note that half of the 3,399 cases of marijuana possession convictions in Iowa during the budget year that ended in 2016 involved 5 grams or less, according to data from the nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency,” Fowler said. “That’s a little less one-quarter ounce of marijuana. In the same period, 18 percent of people convicted for first offense marijuana possession were African Americans. Yet African Americans make up just 3.5 percent of the state’s population.”

Iowa has a limited medical cannabis program, and the state doesn’t seem prepared to fully legalize cannabis anytime soon. Reducing punishments for cannabis possession would be a big win for cannabis advocates in the state, but they’re have to get past these police organizations first.

Besides the ACLU, the bill is also supported by the League of Women Voters of Iowa, the Iowa Association for Justice, the Families United Action Network (FUAN) and the Justice Reform Consortium. The police organizations may be powerful, but it appears they’re outnumbered so far.