The drug policies from the Nixon and Reagan eras would largely extend throughout the presidencies of George Bush and Bill Clinton. However, following the passage of Prop 215 in California in 1996, cannabis legalization would chart a progressive path forward.
At present, 33 states have passed medical cannabis laws, and 11 states (plus the District of Columbia) have passed adult-use cannabis laws.
While there continues to be barriers to legalization, the overwhelming sentiment among Americans is in favor of legalization. Despite these sentiments, many of the overtly racist themes of the War on Drugs are surfacing in the legal industry, albeit more in terms of access and resources.
Racism, in relation to cannabis, has continued to infect our criminal justice and policing systems. The disparate treatment between communities of color and Caucasian communities over cannabis arrests is but one data point that shows how racism and oppression are as present as ever, even in those states that have legalized cannabis.
When it comes to the continued existence of racism and oppression in the cannabis industry, one need not look any further than the laws of the various states that have implemented medical or adult-use cannabis programs.
For example, in Utah, a medical cannabis licensee may not have been convicted of a felony or had a drug related misdemeanor distribution conviction after the passage of the Utah Medical Cannabis Act. By the numbers, the foregoing prohibition, will disproportionately impact black and brown communities that experience far higher arrest rates than whites, especially for cannabis.
According to an ACLU report published this past April, which examined arrests between 2010 and 2018, black persons are 3.64 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than white people, including in those states that have legalized cannabis.
In Utah, the ACLU reports that, between 2010 and 2018, cannabis possession arrests increased by 127.9%. The only state with a larger increase was South Dakota, who saw its arrest rate increase by 176.1%. And although the Utah Legislature has passed expungement reform for medical cannabis patients, such relief is quite narrow and may not reach some of those interested in entering the legal medical cannabis industry in Utah.
Another challenge faced by would-be legal cannabis business owners is the astronomically high costs associated with licensure and business build out that must be met without access to bank accounts and loans/financing. While this issue is one more of privilege than overt racism, it is nonetheless tied to the wealth disparity in America, and the extreme economic disadvantages that have been created by our drug policies.
To illustrate the financial challenges that exist, in Utah, a medical cannabis cultivation license alone (of which there are only eight of at the present time) costs $100,000 a year in licensing fees. Processing licenses and pharmacy licenses carry similar price tags.
These licensing fees say nothing of the costs associated with building out and operating a medical cannabis facility. Sadly, the kind of capital needed to license and operate a medical cannabis facility in Utah, or in another state, is likely not as available to most in our minority and other economically disadvantaged communities, the effect of which has been to whitewash the cannabis industry in high priced suits that are, at times, more focused on profits than actual reform.
A survey conducted by Marijuana Business Daily in 2017 revealed that roughly 81% of dispensary owners were white, while only 4.3% of those cannabis businesses surveyed were owned by African-Americans.
A recent study from the Denver Department of Excise and Licenses found that 75% of local cannabis businesses were owned by whites, while only 5.6% were black owned.
The foregoing numbers go hand in hand with the arrest numbers highlighted above; that is, cannabis arrests are disproportionately carried out in communities of color, while cannabis legalization disproportionally favors the white community.
It is as if the War on Drugs has been transformed into a war against communities of color entering the legal cannabis industry. It is as much a war on race as it is a war on access and opportunity. The ideas of access and opportunity have prompted many reform advocates to lobby for social equity programs and other social justice measures in an attempt to level the playing field for those most negatively impacted by America’s racist and xenophobic drug policies of the past.
Stay tuned Green Scene! Another War on Drugs segment from The Leafy Lawyer releasing tomorrow. . .
