Cultivating an Equitable Cannabis Industry
By Arissa Hall’20
Last March, New York State legalised the adult use of cannabis (see: weed, marijuana, reefer, the plant) by passing the Marijuana Regulation & Taxation Act (MRTA). MRTA is being celebrated as the most progressive cannabis legislation to date and its passage, along with its creation, can be credited to the thought partnership and collective work of organisers, advocates, lawyers, accountable politicians, and those who have experienced marijuana criminalisation.
MRTA’s comprehensiveness is a reflection of the collective hearts and minds working to explicitly overturn the impacts of the “war on drugs”, which encapsulates President Richard Nixon’s campaign in the 1970s to dramatically increase the influence of federal drug control agencies and push through measures such as mandatory sentencing and no-knock warrants, and New York State’s villainous role as the leader of cannabis arrests, made possible by broken windows policing and other anti-Black tactics. These measures, specifically the criminalization of marijuana, have been gateways to police encounters for Black and Latinx New Yorkers who have suffered the indignities of random stop-and-searches due to our association with the plant.
Although 15 US states and the District of Columbia have legalised the recreational use of marijuana, MRTA brings a promise to truly begin to address the devastating legacies and impacts of racist drug policies. So far, the state has committed to equitable social and economic practices and has appointed an all-Black governing body in the form of the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM), which is tasked with overseeing MRTA’s implementation. Hopeful yet discerning New Yorkers are watching closely to see if these signifiers of justice will be actualised in a way that can begin to repair historic devastations.
Earlier this year, at almost a year to the day of MRTA’s passing, the OCM announced that people convicted of marijuana related charges or their family members will be the first to receive highly anticipated retail licenses. This move is intended to prioritise “those who are otherwise left behind”— the lucky few who receive the projected 100-200 allocated licenses will also get access to startup capital, which includes retail store expenses, and plant supply through local farmers.
Although this is a great and exciting opportunity for those interested and skilled in retail business, it is clear that a truly reparative approach must contend with the widespread violence and devastation of criminalisation. It must also go further than narrow capitalist solutions. Most people impacted will not be able to enter into the legalised market, and others may not want to. Regardless, they should be able to live well-resourced lives and that begins with recognising the harms they’ve incurred.
It is with this recognition that I created the project BlackSeed, a community-based consulting and certification group focused on cannabis justice. This project will work in deep collaboration with liberatory partner groups and organisations that are focused on work related to racial justice, gentrification, drug justice and economic justice. Building a varied knowledge base that is rooted in political education is integral to this work. Such a knowledge base is crucial to informing resource needs, demands, and accountability metrics to help ensure that historically marginalized communities have what they need and desire outside of the cannabis business rat race. Importantly, we look to see what can be made possible with the 40 percent of tax revenue allocated for impacted communities and beyond.
This work centres an imagination of economic justice that shifts the community’s designation from exploited bystanders to vanguards who have the ability to determine a reparative future in real-time.
As a born and raised New Yorker who has witnessed and experienced the consequences of the war on drugs, I’m excited to see and be a part of what is possible within the framework of MRTA and beyond. And I’m excited to support a more free and equitable cannabis landscape that is in right relationship to the legacy market and the people who have made cannabis legalisation possible.