Cannabis is Legal in New York- Now the State Must Deliver on Restorative Justice
On March 31st, Governor Cuomo signed S.854-A/A.1248-A into law, legalizing the use of cannabis in New York and establishing the groundwork for the commercial and legal infrastructure to create a legal cannabis market. Despite New York’s heavy Democratic lean, New York came relatively late to cannabis legalization; different bills for statewide legalization stalled in the State House for years as fourteen other states, including New Jersey, legalized the recreational use of cannabis.
Though legalization came later than many advocates had hoped, New York now has the advantage of retrospect in evaluating other states’ performance in delivering a cannabis market and restorative justice to those affected by the War on Drugs. The act of legalization alone is not enough to rectify the systemic effects left on affected communities by extreme over-policing, minimum sentencing and racially targeted community devastation.
In fact, legalizing cannabis while ignoring the necessity for retroactive justice will only further entrench the social and economic inequalities that have led to the over-incarceration of young Black and Latino men, economically disempowered Black families and decimated communities of color.
While New York has committed to a number of advocate-backed measures to implement restorative justice using tax revenue from the cannabis market, such as investment in education and expunging criminal records, other states that have made the same promises have largely failed to deliver. It is crucial that, in the next year, the New York State Government commit to and carry through on a number of projects and principles so that the future of the cannabis market is truly equitable- something that cannot be accomplished without first righting the wrongs of the past.
CREATING A SOCIALLY EQUITABLE MARKET INFRASTRUCTURE
Across the country, in states where recreational cannabis is legalized, cannabis is sold in sterile, Apple Store-esque dispensaries owned by pharmaceutical giants with almost exclusively White shareholders. Companies that established themselves as medicinal cannabis operations in the early 2010’s, such as PharmaCan and Cresco Labs got an early start receiving licenses to sell cannabis for recreational use, leaving little room in the market for small and Black-owned ventures.
Some states that have legalized cannabis for recreational use have acknowledged the paltry share of Black ownership in the cannabis market and attempted social equity programs to increase Black ownership in the market; a 2017 survey found that 4.3% of shareholders or owners of cannabis businesses were Black. The same survey found that 80% of stakeholders in the cannabis market were White.
When California legalized cannabis for recreational use, Los Angeles began an initiative to give out 100 licenses to sell to entrepreneurs from affected communities or individuals with a non-violent criminal cannabis charge. One fifth of those licenses were given to Black business owners.
A similar situation occurred in Illinois, where the state promised a social equity program was in the works to incentivize Black-owned businesses to take part in the cannabis market. According to the Chicago Sun Times, as of December, 2020, “there’s not a single licensed marijuana business that counts a person of color as a majority owner.”
Medicinal cannabis giants such as Columbia Care already stand to have a huge advantage over smaller and more diverse businesses as New York doles out licenses to sell cannabis for recreational use. State Senator Jeremy Cooney suggested “capping” how many licenses are given out to large companies so as to level the playing field, as well as supporting “incubator” programs to financially support smaller businesses as they overcome the economic barriers of establishing themselves in the cannabis market.
EXPUNGING RECORDS AND ENDING SENTENCES
The casualties in the War on Drugs, those left with a criminal record or given exorbitant prison sentences for a non-violent drug charge, are overwhelmingly people of color, primarily young Black and Latino men. A 2013 study by the New York Civil Liberties Union showed that Black New Yorkers are 4.5 times more likely to be arrested for cannabis charges than their White counterparts, though the disparities are starker in New York City, where Black Brooklynites are 9 times more likely to be arrested for cannabis possession.
The New York Civil Liberties Union report pointed to a report from the ACLU, which showed New York leading the nation in cannabis-related arrests. Even if one is not sentenced to prison for cannabis possession, the mark of a criminal charge can create an insurmountable roadblock between sustained employment, home ownership and education.
In the legislation signed into law by Governor Cuomo, non-violent cannabis charges will be expunged from the records of New Yorkers. While this will undoubtedly improve the lives of thousands of people statewide, nothing in the legislation suggests ending the sentences of incarcerated New Yorkers.
A 2018 study from the Drug Policy Alliance suggests that “nearly 80% of people in federal prison and almost 60% of people in state prison for drug offenses are Black and Latino.” Those incarcerated for cannabis offenses can serve inordinately long sentences, up to and including what Weedmaps describes as “a de facto life sentence.” Sarah Gersten, General Counsel for the Last Prisoner Project, estimates that there are at least 40,000 people in the United States serving sentences for nonviolent drug offenses, including in states where cannabis consumption has been legalized.
The expunging of criminal records is a victory for New Yorkers, but the harm committed by the state during its decades-long crackdown on cannabis use cannot be rectified without the exoneration of those in prison for nonviolent cannabis charges.
INVESTING IN AFFECTED COMMUNITIES
A part of the deal struck with the state legislature and the Governor in legalizing cannabis is a measure dedicating tax revenue to affected communities. According to the Governor's website, tax revenue that is not used for administrative costs will be dedicated to education, a community grant reinvestment fund, drug treatment and a public education fund.
Reinvestment in affected communities is a vital component of restorative justice, particularly in New York City, which is home to the nation’s most segregated schooling system and fourth most segregated residential system. Putting money into impoverished communities that have faced the brunt of the violence during the War on Drugs could help to remedy the stark discrepancies between New York City’s schooling systems, residential areas and home ownership across different ethnicities.
In particular, Black people nationwide have staggerly low rates of home ownership and less accumulated wealth than White Americans; in 2016, there was a reported 23% national gap between White and Black home ownership.
Arrests, criminal charges and sentencing can all contribute to a family’s inability to accumulate wealth and buy a home. As Black New Yorkers have been largely redlined into impoverished communities which have been most affected by the War on Drugs, the cyclical nature of community deprivation and the individual inability to accrue wealth continues.
Microloans and financial assistance to families in affected communities, including loans to assist in home ownership and businesses, could be an asset in undoing the harm wrought upon affected communities in New York.
THE LAST PRISONER & ETHICAL CONSUMPTION
“...we can’t really smoke freely until all cannabis prisoners are free[.]”
The Last Prisoner project is an organization of advocates, industry leaders and policy experts committed to the exoneration of all those serving sentences on non-violent cannabis charges. The organization assists the work of releasing prisoners working with lawyers on a pro-bono basis, rebuilding families and, importantly, providing reentry resources for those recently released.
In an interview with Weedmaps, General Counsel Sarah Gersten discusses the ways in which those who live in states where recreational cannabis consumption is legal can contribute to restorative justice and be an ethical consumer of cannabis:
“And I would say vote with your dollar, support black-owned companies and companies owned by and/or employing those that have been in the justice system. I think that's a really critical way consumers can support the mission… I think the day all cannabis POWs are free is coming sooner than we anticipated. But It's going to take a ton of work and it's going to take an army. That's what we need: every person involved in this community to be educated, to be aware and to get involved.”
While much responsibility lies on the state to implement restorative justice to those affected by the violence of racially targeted drug crackdowns, individual consumers must also put in a conscious effort to create and partake in an equitable and ethical market to ensure social equity in a post-War on Drugs America. Shopping from Black-owned businesses, volunteering with organizations like the Last Prisoner Project to assist those still incarcerated, and donating to mutual aid funds are steps all Americans can take as ethical consumers.
Volunteer with The Last Prisoner Project: https://share.hsforms.com/12PDID2j9QpWW0rUIBbhERQ3sn40
Sign the Petition for Nationwide Clemency on Nonviolent Cannabis Charges: https://www.cannabisclemency.org/
Support High Mi Madre, a femme of color marijuana collective: https://www.instagram.com/highmimadre/
