Following important cannabis news articles every day can be a real burn-out, we know. That’s why the Emerald rolls up a chronicle of the headiest news hits, and passes them to you at the end of each week. We Bring You: The Dime.
Written by Katie Bryan | Emerald Magazine
Justice HIGHlights
Advocates and pro bono attorneys working tirelessly have achieved an insurmountable victory in the case of the country’s longest-serving nonviolent cannabis offender. Richard DeLisi will be released in December 2020 after serving 31 years of a 90-year sentence for trafficking cannabis, according to The Last Prisoner Project.
MORE Cannabis, Please
After delaying the vote in September to adjust their focus to the coronavirus relief package, the U.S. House of Representatives will vote on the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act of 2019 or the MORE Act to decriminalize cannabis in December, Politico reports.
*Cough* *Cough*, First Time
In a year beset with strife, the 2020 election was no exception as the nail-biting conclusions lingered on far too long, and incited the anxiety of a nation. While one could focus on the negative aspects of the election, we are going to focus on the overwhelmingly positive firsts that occurred. We recognize the fact that we’ve still got a long way to go. But by the looks of it, we’re on a good path. Without further ado, here’s the list of historic firsts from election night 2020:
- New Mexico made history becoming the first state to elect all women of color to Congress, according to The Hill. Republican Yvette Herrell, Democrat Teresa Leger Fernandez, and Democratic U.S. Rep. Debra Haaland all won in New Mexico. Harrell is also the first Republican Native American elected to Congress.
- Delaware elected Sarah McBride as the first transgender state senator. She also has the distinguished honor of being the highest-ranking transgender official in the U.S.
- Cori Bush is the first Black woman elected to represent Missouri in Congress.
- Ritchie Torres won to represent the South Bronx, and Mondaire Jones won to represent New York’s 17th district. Both were simultaneously appointed as the first Afro-Latino members of Congress who identify as gay.
- Marilyn Strickland is the first Korean-American woman ever elected to Congress and is also the first Black woman to represent Washington State at the federal level.
- Wyoming elected Cynthia Lummis as the first woman senator in the state’s history.
- Madison Cawthorn won his election in North Carolina. The 25-year-old Republican will make history as the youngest member of Congress as well as being the first member of Congress born in the 1990s, according to CBS News.
- Kim Jackson won a senate seat to become Georgia’s first openly LGBTQ representative in the state’s history.
- Mauree Turner was elected to Oklahoma’s legislature, making her the first openly nonbinary person of color, and the first Muslim lawmaker elected.
- Taylor Small won her election to Congress, becoming the first openly transgender member of Vermont’s legislature.
- Kansas made history by electing retired schoolteacher, Stephanie Byer, as its first transgender legislator.
- Democrat Torrey Harris and Republican Eddie Mannis will both be the first openly LGBTQ politicians in the Tennessee House of Representatives, according to News Channel 5 Nashville.
- Jabari Brisport is New York’s first openly gay Black man elected to the state senate, according to Pink News.
- Nancy Mace is the first Republican woman elected to represent South Carolina in Congress, according to the Associated Press.
- Vice President-elect Kamala Harris is a woman of many firsts: she will be the first woman, the first Black person, the first person of South Asian descent, and the first person who’s a stepmom to serve as the Vice President of the U.S.
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