Part 3: Re-Enslavement (3 of 4 parts)
These racist practices continued for decades until the War on Drugs. Former President Nixon’s anti-drug campaigns once again targeted people of color, rounding them up in jails where they live plantation-esque lifestyles, doing hard labor for little pay, benefiting corporations.
From 1970s until 2005, the United States prison population went from 300,000 inmates to over 2 million. That has resulted in 1 of every 9 black children having a parent in prison, 92% of whom are fathers.
Even as recently as 2010, the ACLU reported that black cannabis users were between 4 to 9 times more likely to be arrested for nonviolent cannabis use than their white counterparts. Latin American immigrants face the prospect of deportation for minimum marijuana possession. Although all of these groups use marijuana at extremely similar rates, the evidence shows that people of color are penalized more often/more heavily for using the drug.
In my own life, I have seen my uncles, cousins and other family members imprisoned for simply self-medicating their depression, anxiety, and PTSD with cannabis.
Such racist policing of cannabis leads to even more trauma, depression, and creates a cycle of poverty that traps people. This destabilizes families and communities. The same thing cannot be said in white communities with white families and dealers.
So while CBD is being touted as the coolest shit since sliced bread, it’s important to keep this racial history in mind. These current trends areprofiting off past and current high incarceration rates of black and brown people.
The industry is making millions upon millions of dollars growing trendy ‘hemp’ for all things CBD infused, people of color have been locked away for doing the same, costing them decades of missed time with their families and communities — sometimes even the rest of their life.
Will be looking at for Part 4. I am glad you are talking about such an important topic. It infuriates me how the govt, judicial system and corporations want to brush other decades of blacks being incarcerated for using the same thing they’re profiting off. It’s always “acceptable an cool” when a white person is doing it. I can’t believe there’s still people in jail for weed charges
Aww thank you! This industry (like the entire country) has been founded off the backs of black and brown suffering which is so sick. I hope to educate others and inspire them to support black and brown owned businesses in the field while fighting for the freedom of those in jail. There’s a lot of work to do, I am playing my part.
Yes you certainly are! Education is key and we need people to speak up about these issues. You’re doing amazing 💞
[…] been so ashamed to admit that due to decades of stigma and criminalization (read parts 1, 2, and 3 […]