Joseph Kaulave

Photo Credit: Joe Budd

“Once you have a record, you can’t move forward.”

My name is Joseph Kaulave. I was born in American Samoa. I’m 54-years-old, and have been In San Francisco for almost 47 years, since 1975. You can almost call that native, almost a San Franciscan. 

Being raised here, living here, I’ve seen the dramatic changes with marijuana law enforcement from back in the ‘70s to now. In 1988, I went to check on my next door neighbor after getting off work. I didn’t know he was being raided. I knocked on the door still in my work clothes, the officers answered, threw me down, and began kicking me. I told them I worked for the garbage company, but they still took me in, and I was processed right across the street from where the old station was at that time. I was held for three days. 

I was in the process of starting a family. On that year, December 1988, my wife was pregnant. I was released December 8, bailed out, went straight to St. Luke Hospital to see my child, my first-born. I’ll never forget that. 

The arrest was put on my record for possession of cocaine. It was a marijuana and cocaine raid; so they charged me at a higher charge at that time, because it was more. They didn't find nothing on me, nothing physically, any evidence, but because I knock on the door and walk in the house, and they were raiding...

With that, it stuck in my record. It's been impacting my life because once you have a record, you can't move forward. Struggling, looking for employment, struggling to make ends meet, trying to find some employment that will accept who you are. Many times I will lie on my application, but when that record shows up, you know...the State still looks at you like, "Yeah, you're a drug addict."

What we went through, you learn, and then you move forward in life. So I moved forward in life. I now have six beautiful girls, two boys, and one of my sons just got married. Two grandkids, beautiful grandkids, it's been a joyful ride. 

So to see the legalization law pass, to see the big change of the law, I'm thankful for that, and I'm thankful that it helped those who are ill. I'm really thankful for that, to ease their pain. I have family members myself going through the same thing right now, taking that to ease the pain, to comfort themselves, whatever they go through. If it works for them, then I'm happy.