The Path To Legalizing Marijuana Looks A Lot Like Gentrification

person holding a joint in between their fingers
Alyssa Guznik
August 23, 2022

Marijuana has been legalized - at least medicinally in 36 states. It’s legal recreationally in 18 states and the District of Columbia. With all of this legalization, business is booming. 

At least it is for white people.

Black folks are 4.3 times more likely to be arrested and charged for marijuana possession, including in states where it’s legal to consume. 

So who is profiting off all this legalization?

Currently, 81% of all marijuana dispensaries are owned by WHITE PEOPLE. Licenses for dispensaries are hard to come by and require funding - from $750,000 to $1 million. Most Black Americans don’t have that kind of capital. 

But there are ways around this exclusionist system.

Licensing isn’t required for branding. Building a strong enough brand could allow people in our community to sell or partner their idea with 3rd parties who provide the product. 

Still, the issue is that we have to work around a system to begin with.

White supremacy made it so that our community became the victims of the war on drugs, then took those same drugs and made them designer for the privileged white crowd. It isn’t just about money being taken out of our pockets. It’s also erasing part of our culture-based identity.

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