🌿 Crowded Dockets and Empty Reform: How Marijuana Laws Strain Kinston’s Justice System

Introduction

In Kinston, North Carolina, contradictions are everywhere. Hemp products line store shelves, sold legally to anyone over 18. Yet just blocks away, police are still arresting residents for marijuana possession — sometimes in large amounts, sometimes for a single joint. The result is a justice system clogged with cases that many argue shouldn’t exist, and a community questioning why outdated laws continue to dictate lives.

The Numbers in Kinston

• January 2025: Deputies seized over 75 pounds of marijuana from a Kinston home, charging two people with trafficking and conspiracy.

• August 2025: Police executed a search warrant at a local business, finding 70 grams of marijuana, packaging materials, and a firearm.

• April 2025: A Kinston police sweep led to multiple arrests and drug seizures, including marijuana.

  
  

These cases are not rare. Marijuana arrests remain a regular feature of Kinston’s crime reports, contributing to dozens of cases each year. For a city of just over 19,000 residents, the impact is outsized.

Probation and the Weed Factor

Even when charges don’t begin as marijuana cases, weed often becomes a factor for anyone on probation.

• Probation conditions prohibit drug use, including marijuana.

• Courts provide no coping skills or treatment programs to help individuals stop using a chemical they may have relied on for years.

• A single failed drug test can trigger violations, leading to jail time or extended probation.

Local voices:

• “I wasn’t even charged with weed at first,” said one Kinston resident on probation for a property crime. “But every time I tested positive, they hit me with violations. It’s like the system is set up to keep you stuck.”

• A probation officer, speaking anonymously, admitted: “We spend more time writing up marijuana violations than dealing with violent offenders. It’s frustrating.”

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The Systemic Strain

• Court Calendars: Weed cases and probation violations crowd dockets, delaying hearings for more serious crimes.

• Jails and Prisons: Space is consumed by low‑level offenders, raising costs for taxpayers.

• Probation Caseloads: Officers spend time monitoring marijuana use instead of focusing on rehabilitation or violent crime prevention.

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A Kinston defense attorney summed it up: “If marijuana were legal tomorrow, half my caseload would disappear. That’s how much this law drives the system.”

The Reform Argument

Advocates argue that if marijuana were legalized in North Carolina:

• Thousands of cases could be overturned, freeing up court calendars.

• Probation violations tied to marijuana use would vanish, reducing caseloads.

• Jail and prison space would open up, lowering costs and easing overcrowding.

• Public health approaches could replace punitive ones, offering coping skills and treatment rather than punishment.

  
  

Community Perspective

In Kinston, the contradiction is felt daily.

• “I can walk into a store and buy hemp gummies, but if I smoke weed, I’m a criminal,” said a local college student.

• “It’s hypocrisy,” added a small business owner. “We’re wasting resources chasing weed when we should be focusing on real crime.”

  
  

Closing Reflection

Kinston’s marijuana arrests highlight a broader contradiction in North Carolina law: hemp is legal, marijuana is not, and the justice system pays the price. Until reform comes, courts will remain crowded, probation officers overburdened, and jails filled with people whose only crime was possession of a plant that can be bought legally in another form just down the street.

Written and inspired by: Quarla Blackwell