When traffickers in government-approved cannabis talk about the the way we all got pot before 1996, the favored term is “black market.” Weed traders without papers continue to be defined as the opposition or like a shameful forebear. Because legal weed is presently run by monied white people, and there’s comfort in familiarity.
How important is racial reconciliation to the future of REC and MED? It’s reasonable to ask: If we want a time when dispensaries are spared from looting—or no looting at all, even—should legal weed be that kind of essential?
In the offices of Capitol Hill, a letter is circulating among lawmakers. Its aim is to make the advancement of cannabis part of racial justice. No legislation, however, can make up for the local partnering that hasn’t been done.
Cannabis Now/Marijuana Moment
- Black people are “The Soul of the Cannabis Community,” writes Cannabis Now. Need the organized industry’s equity disparities get “I can’t breathe”-obvious before meaningful partnerships gain traction?
- Reps Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) and Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon) are circulating the sign-on “Dear Colleague” letter. “It is time that we as Democrats take a stand against this pernicious hold-over from Richard Nixon’s blatant attempt at criminalizing the behavior of African Americans,” the Congressional Cannabis Caucus co-chairs write.
Quick Hits
- Funding police is written into our cannabis policy, and Californians are beginning to question this arrangement. Meanwhile, one day after the Oregon Cannabis Association asked Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler to stop sending Portland police its cannabis tax revenue, he redirected $12M in cop funding.
Forbes/Oregonian - BudTrader CEO Brad McLaughlin has submitted a thoughtful letter to President Trump, outlining the “the long term consequences for cannabis arrests.” In the letter he called George Floyd “a member of the cannabis community.” McLaughlin may have been best known previously for his vocal support of a hemp border wall,
Santa Monica Daily Press - Last week the subscription-only Cannabis Wire shared a Tweet thread on militarization and the “War on Drugs” that is rich with context.
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