Actually I think the U.S. is ahead of Norway here, as cannabis has been decriminalized in several states in the U.S. As to the racial component — Norway is not as racially diverse as the U.S., but if you are black you will be routinely stopped by police and interrogated on the street in Norway. This will not happen if you are white. I know of a university professor from Africa that experiences this several times a year — he has just resigned to the fact.
Apropos of nothing, but you mentioning that brought up a memory of when I was in Helsinki this summer: I took a taxi back to the airport early in the morning and the taxi driver (a black man) asked me (white) to sit in the front rather than the back, otherwise he would get stopped by police. Not necessarily something I was expecting in Norway. But what do I know?
One reason why they might have asked you this is because working for services like Uber is illegal in Finland (Helsinki is not in Norway), and they might suspect that a darker skinned person driving with a white person at the back is more likely to be an Uber driver (Uber drivers are predominantly from an immigrant background, from personal experience).
Still racial profiling, but maybe not as bad as being stopped for "only" being black.
>they might suspect that a darker skinned person driving with a white person at the back is more likely to be an Uber driver
I think in Finland official taxis say "TAKSI" and have a yellow sign on the roof, so maybe they might suspect any unofficial-looking car with a driver in the front and the sole passenger in the back as being an Uber.
That does not ring true. I live near Helsinki, use taxis quite a lot - mostly to and from airport but also elsewhere - and half the drivers are dark-skinned people. They are never stopped although I always sit at the back.
If you're an Uber driver (unlicensed taxi) then things are different. A driver in front (of any colour) and a single adult passenger at the back, starting off from the airport in an Uber-looking car, might get attention.
Though it seems to me that especially in Helsinki the trend is shifting. A couple of time I've gotten momentarily confused looks there when I've sat on the front passenger seat.
I don't think we have any states where it has been decriminalized. It has been outright legalized in some, but most still have it illegal - and possession often results in prison time, not just fines. Of course, it's still illegal on the federal level regardless of the state, and you can run afoul of that (e.g. at an internal border control checkpoint).
I live in Colorado. Marijuana was slowly decriminalized before it was legalized.
A handful of states stopped putting minorities into prison for marijuana. It's hard to argue that any of the states have applied a reasonable standard of justice for anyone convicted of these crimes prior to the laws changing.
The distinction is a legal one, but it's important if you're applying for a job or an apartment. A traffic ticket has very different ramifications than a criminal sentence.
I live in a legal state, and I honestly can't imagine living someplace that still prohibits marijuana use by adults... I use edible marijuana pretty frequently while cooking and reading. As far as I can tell, it's just nice and improves my quality of life, like good food or good sex.
The very idea of criminalization is so asinine that it's hard to wrap my head around.
You can still receive jail time for possession of e.g. 1g of marijuana for personal use in states where it is decriminalized. "Decriminalized" just means it's a misdemeanor and not a felony under certain conditions and in certain quantities, but misdemeanors still carry significant penalties.
In New York State, “decriminalized” marijuana means the offense is a violation, which is less than a misdemeanor. It’s essentially a $100 ticket for simple possession under 28g.
Anecdotally, I’ve found it quite easy to get these cases dismissed. They frequently don’t test the alleged substance because it’s too expensive for the state. So, the judge ends up dismissing the case due to lack of evidence.
In my state it means a misdemeanor. Also anecdotally, it's not hard to get these cases dismissed here through a combination of a clean drug test and preemptive community service hours. But I have still spent time in jail for a case that was ultimately dismissed and the state law allows for significant (relative to the 'crime') prison sentences for simple possession, even though we are considered "decriminalized".
The racial component in the US is such a hot-button issue not just because of the degree of racial discrimination, but also because the size and non-immigrant status of the black minority here.
That's going to depend entirely on the Irish border solution. I'm not sure it's a great test case given the total incompetence of how it's being handled.
