***Disclaimer: The imagery is solely for creative purposes, I am neither condoning nor enabling any form of substance usage. I do not smoke, but opted for a Cigar while in Cuba.

Throughout my life, I have come in contact with many people who have smoked and sold weed. Being from a predominantly Black and Brown community, smoking was a leisurely activity often reinforced through movies, music videos and culture. Any fan of hip-hop knew about Snoop Dogg and his love for the plant! Wu-Tang Clan member Method Man, alongside Redman, were stars of the movie “How High,” which was about two young men from the hood who smoked a magical weed plant that gave them knowledge to pass their college entry exam and landed them in Harvard. Another rapper whose music I enjoyed, Cam’ron, had an album called “Purple Haze.” I share this to say I was led to believe marijuana was consumed by only low-income minority communities, as well as “Hippies.”

What I would come to find out through the process of time is that, although not as sensationalized by media, the White population consumes marijuana at about the same rate, if not more, than minorities. To be completely blunt (pun intended), my first awakening to this reality was when media broke the news Olympic Gold Medalist Michael Phelps was found to be using the substance. This, of course, led to him losing endorsements, deals and other types of repercussions followed. My lack of knowledge stemmed from the following: 1) I did not grow up around White people (simple enough) 2) I believed the drugs Caucasions were known to consume were more “high-end” (no pun intended), such as cocaine and others and 3) I never knew of a White person who had been incarcerated for marijuana. 

While the first two were variables outside of my immediate control or visibility, I could vouch firsthand for the third point. Walking to my university for classes as an undergraduate, the sight of Black and Brown men being arrested was not unfamiliar to me as the precinct was only a block away from campus. I remember walking through the park and following a trail of nickel/dime bags of weed and crab leg shells on the tar walkway. It was an understatement to say that people from the hood simply smoked weed, they loved it! Unfortunately, this love, harmless in nature compared to other activities going on, was the basis for many arrests.

As I found through studies and research, this was a continued and lasting effect of the 1970’s “War on Drugs.” Although the focus was on crack-cocaine, marijuana was often viewed as a gateway drug. The problem again? The White population consumed about the same, if not more drugs than communities of color, as well as sold them at the same rate, yet make up a much smaller percentage of people incarcerated. Additionally, the White population had access to more expensive drugs (legal and illegal), which in turn meant more profits for the drug market. Black and Brown people do not historically have the resources to bring drugs into the country as mass production occurs outside U.S. soil. Yet, it was only this year when over $1 billion in cocaine was found on a JP Morgan embargo ship. Apart from traditional forms of trafficking, the DEA has cracked down on doctors who overprescribe to patients, being aware of their addiction, yet soliciting favors in return. Could it be possible that this “war” is being fought incorrectly? Or maybe, the “war” has been fought exactly as intended, against minorities.

Statistics show that 1 in 5 detainees are incarcerated for drug related offenses and there are over 1 million drug possession related arrests that occur every year. In 2017, the majority of drug related arrests were for marijuana at just under 700,000, mainly consisting of people of color, of course. What is most sickening about the situation is that while young incarcerated Black and Brown people have nothing to look forward to when released due to employment challenges from having a record, a whole industry is BOOMING around the SAME DRUG that has put millions of people in jails and prisons This is now known as the marijuana industry.

This past year, the state of Colorado made over $1 billion from their marijuana endeavors and over $6 billion since the state passed its legalization in 2014. Colorado is just one of nine states that have allowed for marijuana to be consumed recreationally, all generating at least several tens of millions; three states accrued over a billion dollars in the past year. Then, you have medicinal marijuana. While presented with different stipulations on usage, seven states (including NY and NJ) still made millions solely off this form of sales. Again, where does that leave the millions of Black and Brown people who have been targeted and sentenced away from loved ones, sometimes to death, due to possession of this substance?

Unfortunately, any plans of exonerating or early release are not being advanced quickly enough as there have been cases of incarcerated individuals dying behind bars for a substance that is no longer viewed as “threatening” and becoming legal by the day. To add further insult to injury, the people who are profiting from legalized marijuana do not even represent the demographic of people who have been marginalized; minorities make about one fifth of this $11 billion industry. Talks of reparations are always neutralized by some sort of passive-aggressive racist language and undertones, further validating that this country was never built with the interests of minorities in mind (in case slavery did not validate that already). 

A country founded by the shedding of blood can only survive by such, at least until the minority become the majority. We are already well on our way to having roles reversed in race demographics as interacial relationships and minority reproduction continue to increase with frequency. While justice is waiting to be served, a proposed solution should of course be to preference the population that has been marginalized by the “War on Drugs” to get their licensing for the industry. It is not a “handout” if businesses are being created, which in turn benefits the government with those taxable dollars. It is only right to start making amends in this manner as much harm has been done to said community. Until our peoples are truly freed:

WE WANT ALL THE SMOKE!!