Why the cannabis industry needs social equity programs
Throughout the war on drugs era, the heavy-handed enforcement of marijuana prohibition resulted in the lopsided criminalization of people of color.
Despite a near equal propensity between whites and people of color for possessing marijuana, police have historically targeted Black and Latino communities when doling out criminal repercussions.
The Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development said the California Community Reinvestment Grants (CalCRG) program is meant to give eligible health departments and community-based nonprofit organizations resources to support “job placement, mental health treatment, substance use disorder treatment, system navigation services, legal services to address barriers to reentry, and linkages to medical care for communities disproportionately affected by past federal and state drug policies, also known as the War on Drugs (WoD).”
What is a Social Equity Program?
Earlier today, Black community leaders from across the state called for the end of the drug war in New Jersey, urging Governor Murphy and Legislative leaders to act now. The group convened via a video press call on Juneteenth, a day to commemorate the end of slavery in the United States.
The pitch to legalize adult use cannabis in New Jersey includes amends to people who’ve been unfairly or disproportionately harmed by the War on Drugs. Cannabis legalization is coming to New Jersey, it’s a matter of when at this point.
But what about all those people still getting locked us for something that’s legal in other states? And what happens to the criminal records of low-level, non-violent pot offenders once cannabis becomes a multi-billion dollar business here in New Jersey?
One of the first lessons I learned as a young prosecutor was also one of the most important: that our success is measured not by the number of people we convict, or the length of the prison sentences we obtain, but by whether justice is done in each and every case.
Lock your doors, shut your blinds and hide your kids. There’s a danger lurking about that’s menacing suburban, rural and urban communities alike: hypocritical politicians trying to get rich off the nation’s burgeoning marijuana industry.
Beware. The list is long and growing.
The War on Drugs damaged communities that have been historically targeted by biased policing and racial profiling; it is time to right those wrongs
From the 80s and into the aughts, “drugsandcrime” was one word for politicians. Drugs followed crime, or vice versa, and drug use was rarely discussed as anything other than a menace: "Public Enemy No. 1." Thanks to an unprecedented uptick in overdose deaths initially affecting white people, that get-tough rhetoric has begun to soften. President Trump has declared the overdose crisis a national public health emergency.