How To Help The Black Community
Beyond Black History Month
Photo by Mpumelelo Macu
As cannabis use expanded, it quickly became apparent that there were clear disparities in the justice system. The cannabis boom was not the same for all groups of people. Black and brown communities experienced higher rates of policing and incarceration than other demographics for their marijuana use. The very people who pushed the plant into the mainstream were getting swallowed up by the criminal justice system for doing so.
If we want to honor black history month, we must push for a legalization movement that uplifts all people, especially those who laid the foundation for the cannabis movement. Pushing for expungement, completely changing the ways in which law enforcement interacts with anyone they suspect is under the influence of cannabis and reinvesting into communities that are heavily impacted by over policing are the first three things that the legalization movement should push for.
WHAT IS EXPUNGEMENT?
Expungement is erasing cannabis related offenses off of the record. Expungement is necessary so that those who have been arrested in the past for marijuanna offenses are able to easily find employment. It is difficult for people with criminal records to find steady employment, which cause serious financial inequities and push people into the prison cycle while they try to do whatever they can to stay afloat. With a booming cannabis industry today, no one should be behind bars and struggling to find work because of cannabis related offenses.
HOW DO WE REINVEST INTO COMMUNITIES?
- Making housing affordable.
- Diversifying the workforce in a real meaningful way, moving beyond a token diversity hire.
- Making daycare affordable and free.
- Supporting after school programs.
- Giving Black communities equal opportunities to access capital to start up businesses.
- Supporting Black owned businesses.
- Donating to Civil Rights organizations, cannabis justice organizations and Cannabis organizations that help to uplift and support black entrepreneurs.
HOW DO WE REINVEST INTO COMMUNITIES?
- Making housing affordable.
- Diversifying the workforce in a real meaningful way, moving beyond a token diversity hire.
- Making daycare affordable and free.
- Supporting after school programs.
- Giving Black communities equal opportunities to access capital to start up businesses.
- Supporting Black owned businesses.
- Donating to Civil Rights organizations, cannabis justice organizations and Cannabis organizations that help to uplift and support black entrepreneurs.
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Whether you believe in defunding the police, or reforming the police, the way law enforcement interacts with anyone who has cannabis on them MUST change. The criminal system is so flawed that rebuilding it from the ground up is a goal that lots of cannabis groups, activists, organizations and lawyers push for. Cannabis is safer than alcohol, the only thing dangerous about it, is getting caught with it!
Communities that are over-policed destroy and destabilize families. By rethinking law enforcement and working towards a more equitable future, the end goal of the cannabis justice movement is a fair chance at a happy, stable and fulfilled life, while being able to smoke a joint at the end of the day without getting in trouble.
