"You have to look beyond the mirror to see yourself."
-Kimto Oche Emmanuel
Many of us thought marijuana legalization meant the simple act of making a plant socially acceptable and not punishable by law. Turns out marijuana legalization is all about racism. At least now that the celebrity party politicians and TV stars are talking about it, that is.
States that have legalized Mary Jane are not just granting everyone access to the beneficial naturally occurring organic organism that they never should have stolen, nope. They are now correcting for past racism. They are providing opportunity to people of specific colors. They are uplifting the oppressed majority minorities. From the mountain top the act of passing medical marijuana law, that leads to adult-use law that includes social equity law, is touted as one of the boldest steps toward uplifting blacks and latinos a government body can take in 2021 (aside from dismantling police departments and conditioning healthcare workers). Nevermind the fact that stereotyping these two races as pot smoking drug dealing criminals was considered racist a decade ago, things have changed, and now they were all absolutely pot smoking drug dealing criminals by racial imperative. And thus, legalizing marijuana helps all blacks and latinos, blanket statement, big broad brush. As Erik Altieri from NORML puts it, “Black and brown lives matter and we owe it to our country and to ourselves to take tangible steps toward dismantling many of the power structures that perpetuate injustice.”
This, of course, is all a blatant lie. Not only is stereotyping based on race still racist, when closely examined one will find that the process of marijuana legalization, from patient to approved adult-use social equity applicant, is riddled with layer upon layer of restrictive racism. It is high tinfoil hat time someone took a harsh look at the bigoted nature of the legal marijuana movement, and revealed its ultimate goal of replacing old racism with new racism.
In the time before legal marijuana no one asked for state issued identification and no one placed limitations on participation. One simply had to prove one was not a cop, and any limitations were generally the fault of supply, a dead pager, lack of pay phone, having no hook-up, a bad drug dealer, or issues with a grow. People of all races bought and sold marijuana to and from one another, uplifting each other on a personal level, smoking, getting to know each other, and participating in an open system. Anyone who wished to break into the industry simply had to acquire products and customers, and anyone who wished to participate simply had to find a dealer. No forms, no fees, no IDs, no approval, no tracking, no limits, no government. No racism.
Then it all comes crashing down as legalization efforts begin with medical marijuana, the seed from which injustice grows. In this Jim Crow era style system sick people with medical conditions are asked by the state to show identification. Not only does it require people of specific colors to acquire a state issued identification and provide it at the time of participation, they must also show private medical records to prove they are sick, all in an effort to pay two to three times the price of the first ID for a second identification card. Those wishing to participate under false identity, or who do not hold residence in that state, or those who do not have an initial ID, are denied access to the second ID. Anyone privileged enough to make it past this gauntlet of restrictive racism must then, in a move two times as racist as the first, show not one, but two identification cards any time they wish to participate. On top of all this, each individual is tracked and the state cuts participants off when they have reached the limits of the law. For caregivers, the heap of identifications they must keep and be ready to show, and the restrictive limitations to which they must adhere in order to participate, are staggering. It is a system of verification the KKK itself could be proud of. As if these racially oppressive hoops for consumers and growers were not bad enough, those who wish to sell medical marijuana in a retail environment have to show ID multiple times over the course of breaking into the industry. They endure fees, forms, licenses, inspections, background checks, character scrutiny, board approvals, rental agreements, and sign up for utilities, all of which hinge on proof of citizenship, residency, and person. Once they have the blessing of their multiple oppressors, in most cases, they must then adhere to strict rules and very specific timeframes. In retrospect it is a wonder marijuana legalization ever got off the ground with such clearly racist and restrictive beginnings.
With the arrival of recreational pot the situation seems to get better but a glance beneath the surface reveals a drastic increase in restrictive racism. While the two ID system is discouraged under adult-use, it is not yet completely abolished. To add to the madness the pool of individuals required to show state issued identification increases exponentially. These harsh and unnoticed racist policies explode onto the general populace like a hydrogen fire as millions of adults age 21 and up are asked to prove just that, in person or delivery. Their participation is tracked on an individual basis, linked with their identification and limited at the whim of the state, or outright denied when they fail to produce a valid, current, not expired, state issued identification card. In the case of delivery the bigots actually refuse to hand over the weed to anyone but the ID holder. So well hidden are these hate filled policies that unsuspecting millions, including those of African and Latin descent, spend money at retail facilities month after month, the unknowing subjects of blatant racism.
But the horrors do not stop there. With adult-use licensing comes the same, if not more, hurdles of injustice as medical marijuana business owners. Not only must an ID be shown and identity proven time and time again, but in many cases the individual is asked to prove their financial status, and in every case asked to pay tens of thousands for licensing. Effectively locking participation behind a show ID and pay to play wall. Classic racism. Then, as if Adolf Hitler himself was putting pen to marijuana law, a red herring known as ‘social equity’ is tacked on that requires not only proof of identity via ID, but also proof of financial status, residency, and proof of criminal record. What is billed as helping majority minorities is simply a trick, a devious plot to herd people of specific colors into a system where they will be required to reveal state issued identification and other highly sensitive documents over and over, and over. Racism on repeat. Don’t want to show ID? Don’t have ID? Your ID does not contain the information they are looking for? Well then, you do not participate in social equity. Period.
This is what we call correcting for racism? Blanket stereotyping people by race? Adding secondary IDs? Forcing individuals of specific colors to show IDs every time they participate? Demanding those IDs contain specific information? Creating a system where majority minorities are blocked by a paywall, state issued ID and private personal information being their only way around? How can we expect lawmakers, like those in Georgia, to understand how racist their voting laws are if we ourselves can not lead the way?
Marijuana legalization has done nothing but transmute old government racism into new government racism. Never before were state issued IDs and personal information required. Never before have there been paywalls beyond the cost of product in this industry. Never before did one have to prove one was of a certain age, sick, poor, rich, lived in a certain area, or had a criminal record, in order to gain access to consuming, growing or selling this naturally occurring plant. Never before has it been cool to promote racial stereotypes.
If awareness is the key to ending racism then we must become savvy to the tricks, the lies, and the hypocrisy. The entity in the mirror has to change in order to change the world. The legal marijuana movement must come to grips with how truly racist it is and remove all limitations, tracking, ID requirements, health requirements, personal information requirements, criminal record requirements, financial requirements, and licensing requirements from participation at all levels. Until then, a racist system that stereotypes by race and enacts new layers of restrictive racism where none existed prior can not be credited with ending racism. No matter how many party politicians and TV stars say so, it’s quite the opposite.
Fortunately there is still a bright light shining in the darkness. The racists, in an effort to smear its name, have dubbed this bastion of inclusivity as ‘the black market’. A wide open segment of the movement that places no restrictions on it’s participants. It asks for no IDs, and never needs proof of income or condition. It cares not where you live, or what color your skin is. It treats majorities, majority minorities, and minorities all the same. It embraces all with open arms, and zero limitations. It is accepting of everyone, caring, and often offers services, products and information for free. No forms, no fees, no ID, no approval, no tracking, no limits, no government. No racism.
