When New Jersey legalized adult-use months ago, equity received widespread attention — and it is an issue in legalization efforts now pending in the Pennsylvania legislature.
In the context of marijuana legalization, equity encompasses many issues, such as seeking to remedy the societal damages from the War on Drugs, which incarcerated tens of thousands of non-white individuals and left many more with arrest records that hinder chances for economic, educational, and employment advancement.
In Philadelphia, between 2008-2015, police arrested over 20,000 Black people for marijuana possession — adults and juveniles. That figure was far higher than possession arrests for white people, whose pot usage exceeded Black Philadelphians.
Another equity aspect is addressing inequities embedded within legalization regimes. The huge financial costs now required for licensing under legalization favor corporate operators and hinders small businesses from this burgeoning billion-dollar industry. Too few regimes provide avenues to legalize “black market” entrepreneurs — illegal operators of all racial groups who’ve serviced marijuana consumers since federal prohibition of the substance began in 1937.