By: Kennedy Weathers

Marijuana, Mary Jane, or what we call weed, has had an interesting journey in the United States. From being highly criminalized by state and federal governments alike and being trafficked into the country as part of a black market, to being legalized for both medical and recreational purposes is a progression that has been made over the last twenty years. In fact, the legalized weed industry is a multi-billion-dollar industry.[i] While the weed industry continues to grow through legalization and become a part of our economy, we continue to see Black and Brown people not only incarcerated for possession and distribution, but also left out of the now legalized industry.

To understand the negative implications associated with the Black community being left out of the industry, we must first look at where we began: the War on Drugs. The War on Drugs began in June of 1971 as a so-called effort to quell the illegal usage of drugs. To do so, President Nixon increased funding for “drug-control agencies and drug treatment efforts.”[ii] The War on Drugs was initially a small portion of federal law enforcement efforts.[iii] Most notably, during its early stages, was the creation of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in 1973.[iv]

However, when Ronald Reagan began his presidency in 1981, the War on Drugs turned its focus to penalties rather than assisting those who suffered from addiction.[v] This change of focus led to a substantial increase in the incarceration rates for nonviolent drug-related offenses.[vi] In fact, nonviolent drug-related offenses went from 50,000 to 400,000 between 1980 to 1997.[vii] During that time, Congress passed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 which created mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses.[viii]

In addition to the public rationale for the War on Drugs, is the silent, primary rationale behind the campaign: racism. A high-level Nixon aide admitted that the War on Drugs was to combat two enemies: “the antiwar left and black people.”[ix] He further went on to state that the War on Drugs was meant to destabilize both of these groups by associating them with certain drugs and then criminalizing those drugs, to ultimately criminalize those groups.[x] During his time as President, Nixon also placed weed in Schedule One, which is one of the most restrictive categories.[xi] This gave law enforcement across the country the green light to search, seize, and raid Black people and their homes. This also brings us back to the mandatory minimum sentencing where the majority of users of drugs, such as crack, were Black and thus, likely to be convicted for a minimum of five years.

Despite states becoming more progressive as time passed, the damage was, and has been, done. Today, law enforcement makes an estimated 1.5 million drug-related arrests each year.[xii] And of that 1.5 million, 550,000 of those arrests are for cannabis related offenses.[xiii] While these numbers may seem astounding given legalization efforts, it is even more astounding that Black people are still four times as likely to be arrested for the possession of weed than white people despite the usage being the same between both groups.[xiv] The consequences of these arrests, outside of imprisonment, can be seen in one’s ability to obtain employment, housing or even loans.[xv] Hence how the consequences of the War on Drugs make it difficult for the Black community to legally enter this legalized industry.

Recently, the legalized weed industry was stated to have generated $18.3 billion per year.[xvi] Despite the industry truly beginning in Black and other urban communities, there are various barriers that the Black community faces in addition to the consequences created by incarceration. One of the major issues is a lack of access to licensing process. While all weed companies have to be licensed, licensing programs exist for “social equity applicants” or “applicants from historically marginalized communities who have been disproportionately harmed by the War on Drugs.”[xvii] However, there are a limited number of social equity licenses which ultimately pits hopeful Black-owned weed businesses against each other.[xviii] The limitations on Black-owned businesses are seen and felt as an estimated 80% of weed companies have white founders or owners.[xix]

How do we fix this? As previously mentioned, one of the primary issues faced, is licensing. To remedy the lack of access to licenses to conduct business, the licensing agency could increase the social equity quota so that at least 45% of newly licensed weed businesses a year are Black and minority owned. Another issue is a lack of resources and funding. Those who were incarcerated and looking to start a business may not be able to obtain loans. Additionally, many banks refuse to give out loans to weed businesses in general.[xx] Legalization of weed at a federal level and the expungement of weed related offenses, paired with other remedies, could allow many to enter the industry.

The question that remains is how do we get there? We must lobby and push for the continued legalization of weed across states, and eventually, at the federal level. We need to push for existing weed companies to employ Black and Brown people not only in their store fronts, but also in their leadership. Further, we need to demand that companies and licensing agencies provide programming and/or seed money grants for emerging minority businesses. We also need to continue to push for those who have been impacted by the War on Drugs, to have their records expunged. While these only mark the beginning, it is a step in the right direction.

[i] Will Yakowicz, U.S. Cannabis Sales Hit Record $17.5 Billion As Americans Consume More Marijuana Than Ever Before, Forbes (Mar. 3, 2021), https://www.forbes.com/sites/willyakowicz/2021/03/03/us-cannabis-sales-hit-record-175-billion-as-americans-consume-more-marijuana-than-ever-before/?sh=5d34b13e2bcf [https://perma.cc/4CEA-YSZ3].

[ii] War on Drugs - United States history, Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/topic/war-on-drugs (last visited Apr.19, 2022) [https://perma.cc/8YQG-EL59].

[iii] Id.

[iv] Id.

[v] Id.

[vi] Id.

[vii] Id.

[viii] Yakowicz, supra note 1.

[ix] A History of the Drug War, Drug Pol’y All., https://drugpolicy.org/issues/brief-history-drug-war (last visited Apr. 19, 2022) [https://perma.cc/5LHZ-VF8F].

[x] Id.

[xi] Id.

[xii] Jamila Hodge, Fifty Years Ago Today, President Nixon Declared the War on Drugs, Vera Inst. of Justice (June 17, 2021), https://www.vera.org/blog/fifty-years-ago-today-president-nixon-declared-the-war-on-drugs [https://perma.cc/GM8H-TZEE].

[xiii] Id.

[xiv] Nazish Dholakia, Legalizing Marijuana Doesn’t Mean It’s Legal for Everyone, Vera Inst. of Just. (Apr. 20, 2021), https://www.vera.org/blog/legalizing-marijuana-doesnt-mean-its-legal-for-everyone [https://perma.cc/G989-JNT6].

[xv] Id.

[xvi] Patrice Worthy, The cannabis industry is booming, but for many Black Americans the price of entry is steep, The Guardian (Sept. 7, 2021), https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/sep/07/cannabis-industry-black-americans [https://perma.cc/L8BA-968M].

[xvii] Megan Boyanton, Entrepreneurs of Color Fight for Fair Share of Legal Weed Wealth, Bloomberg L. (Nov. 30, 2021), https://news.bloomberglaw.com/banking-law/entrepreneurs-of-color-fight-for-fair-share-of-legal-weed-wealth [https://perma.cc/7WTV-52W6].

[xviii] Id.

[xix] Id.

[xx] Id.