Realizing Social Equity in the Cannabis Industry Today
To navigate the evolving role cannabis plays in society, we must operate through a healing lens. American racism, bore from the imperial pursuits of Western Europe and enshrined by an economy built upon chattel slavery, is inextricably woven into the criminalization of cannabis. As the legal industry continues to grow in value, we must always remember who made it possible for cannabis businesses to thrive. The cannabis industry is built on the labor of the Black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) community, who endured decades of unjust violence under the guise of the war on drugs. Prohibition was an intentionally racist policy instituted by the United States government and continues to disproportionately harm BIPOC citizens across the country. Prohibition policies, described by author Michelle Alexander as the New Jim Crow , are a glaring example of structural racism in the nation. The legal cannabis industry has a responsibility to help dismantle the injustice perpetuated by ...