By Attorney Jaelyn Miller
For years, Emancipate NC’s Don’t Plead to Weed campaign has challenged the criminalization of marijuana in North Carolina—and the lasting harm that a marijuana charge can cause to people and families.
Now, that work is connecting with a local campaign for change in Winston-Salem.
Hate Out of Winston recently reached out to Emancipate NC for assistance with its campaign to decriminalize marijuana in Winston-Salem through the proposed Fair Justice & Public Safety Ordinance. The campaign calls on Winston-Salem City Council to adopt policies that would reduce arrests and prosecution for simple marijuana possession and move the city toward a model of public safety rooted in community care rather than incarceration.
Learn more about the Fair Justice & Public Safety Ordinance→
As part of that effort, Emancipate NC Attorney Jaelyn Miller wrote a letter to the Winston-Salem City Council in support of Hate Out of Winston’s campaign, drawing on Emancipate NC’s experience challenging the criminalization of marijuana and advocating for people caught up in the criminal legal system.
From “Don’t Plead” to “Don’t Arrest”
Emancipate NC launched Don’t Plead to Weed to educate North Carolinians about the problems with marijuana prosecutions and to challenge the assumption that people facing marijuana charges should simply plead guilty.
In North Carolina, legal hemp and illegal marijuana can look and smell identical. Determining whether cannabis is illegal marijuana or legal hemp requires chemical testing, yet people continue to face criminal charges based on assumptions about what the substance is. Emancipate NC’s campaign encourages people and attorneys to understand their legal options and make the State prove its case.
Learn more about the Don’t Plead to Weed campaign→
But Don’t Plead to Weed has always been about more than individual cases. Marijuana criminalization is part of a larger system that disproportionately burdens Black and Brown communities and creates consequences that extend far beyond a single court date. A marijuana conviction or criminal record can make it harder to find housing, employment, and other opportunities.
Learn more about ENC’s efforts to decriminalize marijuana→
That is why local efforts to stop marijuana arrests before they happen are such an important extension of this work.
What Hate Out of Winston Is Fighting For
Hate Out of Winston’s proposed ordinance calls for two key changes.
First, it would establish a mandatory cite-and-release policy for misdemeanor marijuana possession of up to 1.5 ounces, preventing law enforcement from making custodial arrests for those offenses.
Second, it would establish a Lowest Law Enforcement Priority (LLEP) policy, directing the Winston-Salem Police Department and District Attorney’s Office to make the investigation, arrest, seizure, and prosecution of adult marijuana possession their lowest enforcement priority.
These policies matter because even when a marijuana case does not ultimately result in incarceration, an arrest and criminal charge can create significant disruption and lasting consequences. Hate Out of Winston’s proposal specifically identifies the harms of jail intake, police processing, and the creation of criminal records that can interfere with employment and housing.
The campaign also calls for resources saved through reduced marijuana enforcement to be redirected toward community investments, including behavioral health response, youth employment, and other community needs.
Building a Different Vision of Public Safety
The connection between Don’t Plead to Weed and the Fair Justice & Public Safety Ordinance is simple: we should not be using the criminal legal system to punish people for marijuana possession in the first place.
Don’t Plead to Weed pushes back when the State tries to turn cannabis possession into a criminal case. Hate Out of Winston’s campaign pushes that principle one step further—asking local government to stop treating simple marijuana possession as a reason for arrest and incarceration.
Both efforts recognize that criminalization carries consequences that fall disproportionately on Black communities. Hate Out of Winston’s campaign notes that Black residents in Forsyth County are arrested for marijuana offenses at 4.6 times the rate of white residents, despite nearly identical rates of marijuana use.
For Emancipate NC, supporting this campaign is part of the same broader fight: reducing the footprint of the criminal legal system, challenging racially disparate enforcement, and making sure that a low-level marijuana offense does not become a barrier to someone’s future.
We are proud to stand with Hate Out of Winston and community advocates working to bring meaningful marijuana decriminalization to Winston-Salem.
Take Action
Winston-Salem residents and supporters can join the campaign by signing the petition and telling City Council to pass the Fair Justice & Public Safety Ordinance.
Sign the petition to decriminalize marijuana in Winston-Salem→
The fight to end the harms of marijuana criminalization does not stop in the courtroom. Don’t Plead to Weed is about challenging unjust prosecutions one case at a time. Campaigns like Hate Out of Winston’s are about changing the policies that create those prosecutions in the first place.
From defending people against unjust marijuana charges to fighting for communities where those arrests no longer happen, Emancipate NC remains committed to building a North Carolina where justice means freedom—not a criminal record.
You can read Attorney Jaelyn Miller’s letter to city council here→