Marijuana legalization is a fight for working people. Throughout America’s history of cannabis prohibition, enforcement has been consistently weaponized against the most economically vulnerable communities.
The criminalization of cannabis by rich and powerful politicians compounds existing national inequities. While corporations continue to get away with bending the rules on everything from taxes to regulations, it should make us angry that working-class people continue to bear the brunt of criminalization.
BOWL PAC has joined a joint petition with progressive allies demanding that corporations are held accountable for taking advantage of working people. For too long, powerful corporations have gotten away with anything while the state prosecutes working-class people for things like marijuana possession.
A driving call to action in BOWL PAC is our knowledge that cannabis prosecution disproportionately targets BIPOC communities. A study by the ACLU has found that Black Americans are 3.78 times more likely to be arrested than white people for marijuana-related charges– and this is just the tip of the iceberg.[1]
We are already seeing growing consolidation within the emerging cannabis industry, and Black entrepreneurs own less than 2% of the new legal businesses to date.[2] If we are to create a better economic system, marijuana policy reform offers us a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to chart a more equitable course. But just like everything else, the weed economy is subject to the broader economic landscape.
Thank you for adding your name for justice. Petitioning lawmakers is one step of our overall theory of change. Our movement for cannabis legalization is all-encompassing— and we will always fight for further reaching intersectional justice.
With gratitude,
Rhett
Rhett Martino
Coordinating Organizer
BOWL PAC
P.S. Our BOWL PAC activist community continues to grow rapidly. As we approach the November elections, we need the resources to consolidate, organize, and amplify. Will you chip in $5 a month or more to support our cause? Together, we will better organize and win legalization.
[1] ACLU: Marijuana Arrests by the Numbers
[2] Black cannabis entrepreneurs account for less than 2% of the nation’s marijuana businesses
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