A Look at Cannabis and Racial Equality on Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Today is the Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a day in celebration of one man who inspired a revolution through nonviolent protest and led our country to strive for racial equality. King Jr. made a lasting impression on our society, and his actions echo into the events of modern day society not just for racial equality, but all kinds of equality.

In cannabis, there is a diverse amount of people, but equality and minority inclusiveness isn’t quite there yet. According to The Seattle Times, people of Asian descent represent less than eight percent of the cannabis industry in Washington State. People who identify as black and Latinx represent even less, at four percent. Numbers may differ in other states, but they all remain low.

In honor of King Jr.’s actions and hope for a better future, we view the current state of cannabis and minority representation—which, to be honest, could use much improvement.

To start off on a more positive note, last year, the Oakland City Council, in Northern California, put its Equity Permit Program into place for cannabis businesses. Addressing the known evidence that the minority community has been unfairly targeted in cannabis-related arrests over the years, the Program specifically welcomes minority citizens to participate. In order to qualify, they must be a local resident of the local area, make less than 80 percent of the city’s average median income or have been arrested for, or convicted of, a cannabis-related offense within the past 20 years.

However in May 2017, Maryland’s progress in establishing a reliable medical cannabis program was suddenly halted by a judge. Allegations surfaced, claiming that racial diversity was not a factor when choosing the state’s first 15 licenses to award, as none of the licenses had been given to minorities. The Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland fought for minority rights to be involved in the cannabis industry by introducing legislation. Unfortunately, the legislation didn’t proceed, but Gov. Larry Hogan did order a study regarding racial dispensaries and inclusiveness in the cannabis program.

More recently, Kansas Representative Steve Alford made racist comments about cannabis and African Americans. “What you really need to do is go back in the ’30s when they outlawed all types of drugs in Kansas across the United States, what was the reason they did that?” Alford said. “One of the reasons why, I hate to say it, the African-Americans, they were basically users and they basically responded the worst off those drugs just because (of) their character makeup, their genetics, and that.”

The racial equity conversation in the cannabis industry has been rising up once again following Jeff Sessions’ decision to rescind the Cole Memo. Some believe that reinstating the federal government’s ability to “crack down” on legal states will only affect the large companies, which are reportedly owned by wealthy white people. According to Cannabis Consultant Aaron Bossett, this is the reality of the situation. “The Jeff Sessions decision only goes after the rich and privileged it has no effect on the already affected communities because we’re not involved.” Additionally, Bossett noted that racial representation is a concerning issue. “There has to be some sort of conscious effort to change what’s going on right now,” he said. “I’m in a room of people who are interested in progressing the cannabis face but I’m also the only black male representing an entire community they get to represent individually.”

Evidence of inequality is still all around, and it must be fought for. If Martin Luther King, Jr. were alive today, with a dream as vivid as the day he decided to fight back, he would fight for equality in every aspect of society.