By Amber Butts
Though the recreational use of marijuana was legalized in January of 2018, Black communities continue to be criminalized, targeted and scapegoated at disproportionate rates. This year over 50% of drug arrests were for marijuana with Black folks being 3.73 times more likely than whites to be taken into custody. It has been discovered that some of these possession arrests were planted by police officers.
In the same month it was legalized, Kansas state republican and senator, Steve Alford claimed Black users responded the worst to the drug because of their character makeup and genetics. In the early 1930’s, Federal Bureau of Narcotics director Harry Aslinger, wrote sensational, propagandist articles disguised as public safety concerns that functioned as smear campaigns against marijuana. Alford’s statement is unsurprisingly reminiscent of Aslinger’s claim that Black folks who have access to drugs pose a danger to white women, children and society as a whole. Aslinger also stated that “reefer makes darkies think they’re as good as white men,†and “marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes.â€
The state has a history of putting drugs in Black communities and then jailing folks for peddling and/or consuming them—with my father being no exception. Over 20% of incarcerated persons are in prison for marijuana possession, and the legalization of the drug is not getting them out. These anti-Black and culturally incompetent policies extend from the consumers of marijuana, to the dispensaries, to the various conventions and assemblies dedicated to its legalization.
These conventions often use buzz words like “diversity,†“inclusion,†“community†and “sustainability†while discussing the future of the industry. Yet dress codes, ID checks, majority white speakers, high cost of attendance and vetting are all expectations dependant on entry. It is no surprise that given the statistics, the dominators of the industry and the criminalization of Black communities, less than 1% of US based cannabis dispensaries are Black owned. Non-Black investors rarely communicate, support and/or endorse Black dispensary owners and their vision.
The Marijuana Tax Act of 1937, The Controlled Substances Act of 1970, Reagan, Nixon and Bush’s declarations of a “War on Drugs†are all extensions of the prison industrial complex and further exemplify how anti-Black policies and legislation were geared towards obliterating Black communities. Capitalism and white exploitation continue to run rampant in the cannabis industry, often impacting who is able to enter rooms and who is not.  This comes into direct tension with Black dispensary owners trying to make a change and build sustainable communities that are knowledgeable about these practices.
Recent Townie Award winner, 3rd generation Oaklander and cannabis dispensary co-owner, Chaney Turner is a Black entrepreneur and activist. Chaney is a non-binary change maker who is co-owner of The People’s Dispensary and travels regularly to educate, learn and amplify the voices of disenfranchised communities. The People’s Dispensary is a 3/4 POC & 100% queer owned collective that focuses on getting resources and information out to communities that are often ignored, silenced or bull-dozed. They create community inspired content and specialize in building people power that believes in the ability to communally determine the conditions in which we live.
The National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA) suggests that folks who are industry leaders pay $500 per month or $5,000 annually for membership. This is the lowest cost accredited cannabis membership fee in the United States. For Black folks in the US who are trying to get access into these conference and expo spaces, this amount could be their rent, especially given the constant rise of Black displacement and houselessness. A recent United Nations study found Oakland’s houselessness crisis to be “cruel†and undignified.
When Chaney attends cannabis conferences, investor meetings and social mixers, potential business partners are initially interested in their commitment to their community and racial diversity. Both parties typically express interest in setting up a meeting, exchange business cards and schedule a location. However, once Chaney’s public, personal and transparent Facebook page is researched, folks begin backing out of meetings referring to them as unprofessional. These investors are often white, higher income men who have been in the cannabis industry for over a decade that are driven by historical memory, entitlement and white imagination.
When Chaney addresses how anti-Blackness, classism and sexism have impacted the potential investors sudden decision to pull out, folks grasp at opportunities to discredit their business, reputation and future endeavors. Chaney is often threatened with suits for libel, defamation of character and bad business reviews because they directly call out other business owners’ racism within the industry. They don’t believe in entering rooms without being considerate of who is left out.
Former CEO of TreatWell Health, Alison Ettel aka #PermitPatty resigned from her position after news spread that she deliberately targeted and called the police on an 8 year old Black girl for selling water without a permit in San Francisco. Ettel claimed she only pretended to call the police on the child, but audio of the 911 call contradicts that story. Black folks are criminalized inside and outside of the cannabis industry. The constant tactics of intimidation, coercion and silencing often go under reported, unscrutinized and under observed in our communities. But they happen all the time.
Again, less than 1% of US based cannabis dispensaries are Black owned. This means that though most of these dispensaries are in Black and brown neighborhoods, their presence does not necessarily mean they support the communities they reside in. White business owners, lawmakers and police officers continue to make money off of Black and brown folks’ labor and pain. Big Pharma the legalization of marijuana because they have a vested interested in its criminalization, especially as it relates to Black “offenders.†Marijuana possession has not been decriminalized or de-penalized in our communities. Our folks are still serving long term/life sentences for marijuana possession and redistribution.
Supporting Black dispensaries is a necessary strategy to combat these anti-black policies, demarcations and conferences of respectability, access and performance. When we create space for each other, we build connections that allow for more nuance, strategy and community restoration. Â The Hood Incubator is a collective founded by three brilliant Black minds in Oakland, CA. They lead workshops to support Black folks in becoming entrepreneurs with an emphasis on how Black neighborhoods have been targeted and criminalized by the state. Black communities deserve to thrive. When we make concerted efforts to uplift the Black folks behind these visions, we build our capacity to imagine, fight back and succeed. Black owned dispensaries like these need our support.
*Chaney’s pronouns are exclusively they/them*
Suggested Readings:
“Black women know that stakes are high in the cannabis industry, here’s why they’re joining anyway,”— Myeisha Essex, Essence (Sept 2018)
“The marijuana industry alienates Black folks, and benefits white folks,” — Katie Mitchell, wear your voice mag (Sept 2017)
“Former Oregon pot lab owner, with aid of white nationalist lawyer, sues Antifa for defamation,” — Shane Dixon Kavanaugh, oregonlive (Oct 2018)
Amber Butts is a writer, educator and tenants rights organizer from Oakland, CA. Her work has appeared in Blaqueerflow, KPFA’s Women’s Magazine Radio and 6×8 Press. She is currently at work on an afro-futurist novel focused on themes of intergenerational trauma, imagination, Black survival and environmental racism. Amber’s writing challenges multiple systems of oppression through the use of queer and womanist frameworks. She works to amplify the stories of poor Black folks, with an emphasis on mamas, children and elders. She believes in asking big and small questions that lead to tangible expressions of freedom and liberation.
Amber likes cheese and comic books and sings louder than she needs to.
