welcome to "viewpoint." i'm jim handly. election day just two days away. one of the more controversial ballot initiatives is issue 71, legalizing a small amount of marijuana. dr. sandra yours barbara is from the district of columbia. and edwin powell, assistant professor of pediatrics from howard university. thank you for coming in. this is a very controversial topic. in many corners of the district

and indeed around the country, too. let's start out with the big picture for folks. since july in d.c. there has been decriminalization of marijuana. this takes it a step further. what are we talking about here? let's start with you, if we can. >> initiative 71 in many ways is a symbolic initiative. but what it does is it decriminalizes possession of marijuana up to two ounces. it allows for minimal amounts of personal home cultivation, about six plants or less. yes, it gives the council the push it needs to set up the taxation and regulation system that would create full-fledged legalization of marijuana here in the district. >> so we're taking a leap then from decriminalization to legalization. and you have a problem with that. >> i do. i've always been an advocate for decriminalization of marijuana because i know about the disparate impact on the

african-american community. in particular, african-americans are targeted in every sector of our society, whether it's driving, whether it's walking down the street, that type of behavior in which african-american are that type of be haif your are targeted. i have an issue with legalization because we have a law on the books that says it is actually decriminalized. an individual can have a certain amount on his person at a certain period of time and without, first of all, being incarcerated. when we legalize this, i'm concerned about some of the health impacts it might be having on some of our citizens. we have not taken a look at how i'm impacts on pregnant women. if pregnant women decide to engage in this type of behavior. we don't know how it's going to impact inhibition, concentrat n

concentration, problem solving in use if they continue to use it or if this initiative increases the usage of it. there's a whole lot of other issues as well. what about housing issues? if an individual is living in public housing subsidized by the federal government, are they going to be allowed to grow those six plants inside their homes? are they going to be allowed to live in public housing and be allowed to have two ounces on their person? it raises a lot of concerns. i think a dilemma in terms of policy that i think perhaps we didn't think of. >> dr. grover, i want to bring you in here and talk a little bit about what mr. powell touched on and the issue of race and unfairly targeting african-american -- mainly young men we're talking about. this whiz the impetus in large part for what we saw in july, the decriminalization. talk a little bit about how that is perceived in the african-american community. >> there seems to be a disregard for the historical memory of the african-american community impacted by this.

certainly we understand and know the figures and no how disproportionately african-american men have been targeted. we fail to recognize that we know how devastated families were because of this disproportionate arrest. we understand that many times drugs is the umbrella and people aren't so intellectually cool and emotionally detached that they can say, well, it's just marijuana. it's not anything else. we remember the crack epidemic, we remember how devastated communities and families were. people still understand that young people were standing on corners and communities where communities were fortified and people coming in and jump-outs and all of this. i think people are not so readily able to simply disassociate themselves from that without an emotional

pushback from it. certainly we don't want young african-american men to continue to be incourse rated unfairly. there's something in historical memory that says there are other issues that will be impactful on us if we simply say, yes, we're going to -- it's okay to have two ounces. we're not looking at what does that do to a family structure? is there going to be enter turmoil within a family about smoking and parents and young people. what happens to young people that you're racing who look up to older brothers an sisters. how do you keep the marijuana away from young people -- >> there are all these issues we're not looking at or address. it's very difficult to have people who have been impacted by this to simply look at an issue and just take everything aside and say, okay, we're for this piece and separating it from that piece. >> we have a lot more to get tochlt i want to get your thoughts on all that's been said

on the other side of the break. much more to come on "viewpoint." stay with us.

welcome back to "viewpoint." our topic is initiative 71, legalizing small amounts of marijuana in the district. the step beyond decriminalization. the aclu's position on this is supporting this next step. what's the -- if you had to pick out two big averagements, what would they be? your two main points? >> decriminalization has been very effective in sort of plugging this gushing wound, a bleed so to speak, where you have more than 5,000 peopley:f6 every year being saddled with criminal records for marijuana possession here in the district. really those marijuana possession arrests just scratch the surface of how the war on drugs is impacting the black community here. we at the aclu have not only

studied arrests, but we're now looking at years of residential search warrants. we're looking at the ways in which this heavy -- when we think about drug enforcement here in the district, you're largely talking about marijuana enforcement, and the militarized tactics that are being employed to break down doors, throw flash grenades through people's windows, all in search of low-level marijuana distribution or alleged distribution, and this is largely, largely been burdened on the black community, just like possession. the jump-out cars. the other day i was at anacostia high school and i'm giving sessions to huge groups of african-american students about how to survive a police encounter. this is a result of the war on drugs. i don't think that anyone disagrees that the disparate impact has been selective enforcement of marijuana laws on

the black community, where you have marijuana constructively legalized on parts of the district west of 16th street where we know there's tremendous use that outpaces most of the country. >> with decrillization back in july, does it take that off the table? >> no, decriminalization just dealt with marijuana. decriminalization in the district was the first about racial justice. it was the first time we had provisions like odor will not be used as a basis alone to stop and search someone. that was so significant. those stories of racial profiling, the reason we in the aclu studied marijuana here in the district was because young people were coming to us again and again every week and saying we're being stopped. we're being thrown against the pavement. we are being humiliated. our digity is being stripped all in search of this alleged marijuana. most of the time we don't have. even the statistics for that

reality without, i don't think you have to support marijuana use to know that in order for communities to heal, we have to end this constant wounding of communities. it's a war on the community. >> by that same token, many in the african-american community do not support legalization but they do support decriminalization which is on the books now. >> i want to address the very real statement and facts that you were making, but there's a historical legacy that goes back to before marijuana was the reason. i'm pushing back against the argument that it's simply because we're trying to get marijuana that young african-american men are stopped. there's certainly more to it than that. that's not why you're stopped going through department stores. that's not why you're stopped walking in white neighborhoods. no one is thinking you're smoking marijuana. it's a racial profile, but it's not a racial drug profile.

the racial profiling has been going on for many years. there has been torment in african-american communities for many years. i think what i'm hearing many times and i'm not charging the aclu with this, but the african-american community is back on which this industry for selling marijuana is being built. that's my opinion, that we're using -- they're being used to say, well, it's happening here and it's unfair, and if we have this dispensary and we're able to sell it to the same group of young people being impacted by it -- maybe not so much legally. when you start going into homes and you're talking to grand mothers, mothers, fathers about what they want for their youth and how their families have been impacted by this, i think you'll get a different story as to why we don't want these dispensaries. >> mr. brown, let's talk a little bit about young people because that's your focus, too. "the washington post" came out that certainly we're talking

about 21 and over for this. but does it come with a message of approval? >> it does. when you send a message out to a child that, in fact, here is a drug that has been legalized, it sends some type of subliminal message to the child that this may be, in fact, something good. i think sandra made a good point when she said a child watches his mother, his father, his older sibling smoke marijuana, they see it as perhaps an acceptable activity to do. i want to say that medicinal marijuana should be a part of our fabric. i think the decriminalization piece that was actually brought online should be. but when you legalize it, i think what you're doing isfññ -o me, i'm somewhat suspicious about how it's actually being brought about, because if you looked at the sponsors or the people who actually initiated

this, these are the individuals who are already in the marijuana industry. so when they use, you know, racial profiling as perhaps an excuse to actually kind of thrust this bill through, i think it's putting blinders on as to what this initiative actually stands for. i think there are going to be some winners. it's going to be the dispensary owners. it won't be the families who have to be subjected to the same types of disease as alcoholism has caused. >> i know you want to jump in. we have to take a quick break. you mentioned sponsors. we'll start with ours. we'll be right back on "viewpoint." stick around.

welcome back to "viewpoint." our topic of conversation is legalizing small amounts of marijuana and growing six at-home plants. you wanted to jump in on

comments that were made about the racial discrimination. you say this goes far beyond that. >> yes. i think dr. yours and dr. powell have made really salient points. i don't disagree with what they're saying and i don't think the aclu disagrees with them. i think racial profiling has come long before the war on drugs. however, the war on drugs is singularly the reason for why we have the bloated prison system. these are statistics. these are facts. our prisons are bloated with people as a result of non-violent drug charges. and so that is why the war on drugs is viewed so intricately connected to incarceration and the venom mon on massive incarceration. that being said, legalization will not end discrimination. it will not end racial profiling. it is a very important first step. and furthermore, from an aclu perspective, legalization is not

racial justice, not intrinsically. look at colorado and washington. incredible what they've been able to do. the reality is the proceeds from legalization have not naturally flowed into communities that were disparately impacted. we have an opportunity here in the district that the initiative is going to pass, unlike colorado and washington. in d.c. the council has to act because we don't have a ballot initiative structure which allows for the writing in of regulatory systems. >> there's going to be serious fine-tune that the council needs to do. >> completely. that's why i said this is symbolic in saens. it is the push. it tells the council, look, this city has an overwhelming support. "the washington post" reported in january of this year that it was 65% support. so that means that this initiative is going to pass. >> you bring up the "washington post," and it came out pretty

clearly against legalization. it cited the ama as one of their reasons why. i want to talk more about the health thing, calling cannabis a dangerous drug leading to impairment, also a weakened immune system, memory problems, too. what does this open up there and do we know, data from both sides, is there enough data out there to say this is safe? >> there's not enough data out there yet. there's been a study commissioned now by the nih in which they're putting out funding opportunities to actually look at this and seeing how marijuana impacts on individuals. we do know if a pregnant woman actually smokes marijuana, we don't know exactly how it impacts her brain, but we do no disproportionately women who smoke marijuana while pregnant, they actually have premature birth, no low birth rate. this leads to many conditions, bronco pulmonary dysplasia which

is a respiratory infection and not to mention the retinopathy of prematurity which is visual issues with the child. if we know that marijuana causes early birth -- for example, premature births, and we know premature births are linked to these conditions, the audience needs to know there's no panacea. once these conditions are actually diagnosed, there's no panacea. >> another thing i want to throw in very quickly is the council needs to look at, number one, that we spend so much money in smoking cessation programs. now we're trying to put another smoke producing, potential habit produce activity on the market again. the $2 million we put into smoking cessation program, the 2015 budget is going to pale in comparison in terms of what we really need. >> we need to take a break and i want to bring in dr. barbara on

this, you want o to respond. >> what we do mow is criminalization of marijuana has not reduced the availability. legalization statistics coming out right now shows that use is declining post legalization. if we want to reduce the use of cigarettes, for example, by pregnant women, weigh don't lock up everybody who potentially could use or sell cigarettes. we educate people and give them healthy alternatives. the same thing goes. criminalization does not deter bad or so-called bad behavior. even if you're a person who doesn't want people to smoke, marijuana legalization is the way we can have other intervention t. criminal justice system is not a blunt tool. >> we have seen certainly reduced access to it. does this increase the access to marijuana? >> i think it does. i think it puts families raising children in a very bad situation. when you are trying to raise a child in the environment today,

especially an african-american child, male or female but especially male and you have the other challenge in front of you of this substance being legalized, where you know it can have a negative impact. we still haven't talked about what happens if you smoke this drug, you smoke over the weekend and your employer says we're having random drug tests. you knew when you signed the contract, you're not allowed to have any drugs in your system. it's legal, you're 21, it can stay in your system. now you've lost your job. you have family impacted by this. i think we're still looking at it in sort of a vacuum and we're forgetting about the personalization now. we're forgetting about families who will be dealing with 21-year-olds and perhaps younger who are buying marijuana, who get addicted to it and what do you do with them? now you've got a problem -- you've got enter family

conflict. >> we must take a break right now and we'll come right back after this short break.

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get a fios triple play online for this great price and a $400 visa prepaid card with a 2-year agreement. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800.974.6006 tty/v we're back. initiative 71, two days away from the vote. your reason for supporting sglit the aclu says vote yes to initiative 71 because it's time to bring safe and compassionate drug reform to the district. legalization won't end discrimination. in d.c. we can call for self determination of communities. we can call for regulatory structure which allow for reparations to the communities impacted. we can create opportunities for communal ownership and communal wealth. it's an opportunity for the district that we can't let slip by. >> your opposition? >> as a father of four teenagers, as a husband, as a citizen, i say no at this particular time because i think there's so many things we don't

know about marijuana and its effects on individuals. i would suggest we wait achb look at the commission studies. look at the findings from these studies to determine whether or not this may be a safe mode. many other social issues in this city. i think the legal saix of marijuana might impact it. >> i think the impact from drugs in certain parts of the city has been so destructive, to go ahead with this indianaishive to legalize marijuana will further call turmoil in families and more destruction. i don't think it's the responsible thing to do. i think parents trying to raise children are responsibility with strength of character, that this is not the way to go. >> by a show of hands very quickly, who thinks congress is going to jump in? >> i think they're going to say something. >> you're convinced they won't. we could talk for hours about this. i know our viewers are talking,

too. thank you for engaging us all in this topic. the vote is coming up, initiative 71 on tuesday in the district. now back to "news 4 today."

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welcome in to this blustery sunday morning. welcome to "news 4 today." i'm adam tuss. best way to describe it. i'm angie goff. november 2, 2014. whoa, wind, that's all you need to know this morning. storm te chuck bell here to tell us how long it sticks around. >> sunday is off to a windy and cold start and just to make things a little worse, a little light rain to cope with as well first thing th. here it is on storm team 4 radar. light rain showers in and around the immediate downtown washington area and points to the east and south where the most rain chances are this