By Rob Mejia
Humberto Ramirez sits in a prison cell in South Woods State Prison in Bridgeton for 23-and-a-half hours a day waiting for the chance to one day embrace his three daughters and wife again.
His crime? Non-violent cannabis possession.
When New Jersey overwhelmingly voted for adult-use cannabis in November 2020, many citizens believed this would end cannabis arrests. After all, large legitimate companies would soon be able to sell pounds and pounds of cannabis legally.
That is not the case, however, because cannabis arrests persist. In fact, the ACLU reports that 55% of all drug arrests in New Jersey are for simple possession. The report goes on to show a wide disparity in cannabis arrests by race with people of color being arrested at 3.64 times the rates of whites though use rates are similar.
Humberto, 48, who was caught with six pounds of weed, was arrested in 2019, but he was given a mandatory seven-year sentence in Middle Township just two weeks after cannabis became legal in the state.
To illustrate the pain that a family feels when a parent is incarcerated, his youngest daughter — a competitive gymnast and dancer in middle school — now refuses to compete in gymnastics. She sleeps on her father’s side of the bed desperately waiting for his return. Their home is quieter and feels empty. Without Humberto it is just a place to live…and wait.
Brooke Popplewell, Humberto’s wife of 18 years, is done waiting. Last month, she started a petition to appeal directly to Gov. Phil Murphy to secure a pardon and win his freedom. It has gathered over 1,500 signatures to date. You may recall Murphy ran on a platform that included legalization and to put an end to incarcerating people like Humberto for possession.
Humberto has made mistakes, some big mistakes in life. His is a complicated life shaped by a troubled childhood. He’s been married twice, with children from both marriages.
Complicated life or not, he should not be sitting in prison.
Stops and starts of a downward spiral
Humberto’s difficult childhood involved a close relative who sold drugs in the underground market. Later in his childhood, thanks to the positive influence from another relative, he survived and even thrived during his teenage years.
Shortly after becoming an adult, though, Humberto had two missteps that would come back to haunt him many years later. When he was 18, he was pulled over in North Wildwood for speeding and was busted for having an ounce of cannabis.
Unbelievably, although Humberto had a clean record and a steady job, he was sentenced to nine months in prison. He had recently applied to join the U.S. Army, but his arrest stopped his potential service to our country in its tracks.
Then, when Humberto was 20 years old, he took the charges for a vulnerable relative who was arrested for selling drugs. He spent nearly three years in jail.
Fast forward to 2019, the year Humberto was again arrested for possession. At this point, his record had been clean for 23 years. Because this was his third offense and involved six pounds of cannabis, the penalties were swift and severe. In New Jersey, once an individual has more than five pounds of cannabis, the punishment increases greatly.
When sentencing took place on Nov. 17, 2020, the only people in the courtroom were Brooke, Humberto, and their attorney. The judge and prosecutor appeared by Zoom. This is where they received the devastating news that a seven-year mandatory sentence had been levied.
Keep in mind that many New Jersey drug cases are available for plea bargain thereby bypassing a mandatory minimum sentence. This is called Brimage Law and the guidelines for this option are available here.
Essentially, the prosecutor fills out a matrix that looks at vital details of the crime such as quantity of drugs involved, whether a weapon was used and if the defendant was operating a drug production facility. With enough mitigating circumstances, a defendant can be put on probation, which keeps them with their family and in their community. Humberto Ramirez was not given this option.
Now in prison, both Humberto and his family are struggling. Upon entering prison, Humberto was placed in quarantine for 14 days because of Covid-19. After seven days, he passed out from dehydration, hit his head, and had to go to the prison hospital. After his recovery, prison staff placed him in quarantine for another 14 days. This means that for 21 days he was in solitary confinement.
Then, there are the myriad indignities of prison. In Bayside State prison, no toilet paper was provided. This, and simple needed items like soap and deodorant must be purchased at the commissary. And phone calls —all of which are recorded — are usually made as collect calls to approved numbers with a short conversation limit at a premium price. And always, there is a lack of privacy and a swamp of loneliness.
If there is any good news here, it is that others are stepping up help Humberto. Specifically, The Last Prisoner Project, who also list two other New Jerseyans serving time for non-violent cannabis possession, is supporting his case. Brendon Robinson and Stan Okoro, founders of 420NJEvents and Minority Cannabis Academy, have offered advice and connections. Several local attorneys are offering their time and counsel pro bono.
I also encourage you to support this cause by signing the petition and using your connections to make sure that Gov. Murphy and our legislators hear our voices. It is time for Humberto to come home. Sign here.
Rob Mejia, a regular contributor to NJ Cannabis Insider, is an adjunct professor at Stockton University where he teaches the cannabis courses. He is also the author of “The Essential Cannabis Book” and “The Essential Cannabis Journal.” His cannabis education company is called Our Community Harvest.
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