It seems like a very accurate quote.

Sometimes unbridled greed has some side benefits -- while these white men get rich, no more black kids will be going to prison for selling weed.

Or whatever else they can dig up to charge them with. All that will change is that some rich white guys will be getting richer.

But I'll be able to get my weed!

The 1980's.

It was African American community leaders themselves who asked for higher prison terms for some drug offenses.

So crack smoked in a pipe carried a higher prison term than cocaine, the white man's preference.

I don't mean to sweep under the rug all the racist interactions between our lawmakers and our police, who have a shared history of abusing the members of the African American community.

But sometimes the leaders of that community did not make things easy on their own people.

Buckley cosniders the drug war insanity, while Rangel wants tougher laws.

And this, from the following URL:

http://prisontime.org/2013/08/12/timeline-black-support-for-the-war-on-drugs/

1988. October 22. MAJOR FEDERAL DRUG WAR LEGISLATION PASSES. House of Representatives approves the Anti-Drug Control Act of 1988, a bi-partisan bill which further toughens narcotics penalties, adding the death penalty in certain cases, and creating the Office of National Drug Control Policy — establishing a so-called ‘drug czar’ for the first time.

Also enables a Federal media campaign designed to curtail youth substance abuse. Passes
House on 346-11 vote.

Many African American House members don’t vote on the measure. However, Julian Dixon,
William Gray, August Hawkins and Charles Rangel vote in favor of the Reagan-backed bill.

The only African American “No” votes are cast by John Lewis and John Conyers.

1988. November 18. Ronald Reagan signs Anti-Drug Control Act of 1988. The New York Times
quotes Rep. Rangel, chairman of the House Select Committee on Narcotics Abuse and
Control,praising the provision of the law establishing a national director of drug policy.

”Now Congress and the American people will know who is in charge of dealing with the
nation’s drug crisis, because this individual will be responsible full time for developing
and coordinating all aspects of our war on drugs,” Rep. Rangel says.

Maybe they have the start up capital but the Black kids selling weed were business folks also. Why would they not do what they have always done only legally?

I doubt there is any data yet, but I won't be shocked if there's a racial disparity in acquisition of licenses.

Without it, the best a former street dealer can hope for is employee status- and felony convictions can be an impediment to even that.

To get into that business these days. In addition to producer costs, you need to consider electricity, water, nutrients...and security. You also need money for testing, packaging, and marketing. It is just not as simple as some might think.

that, once again, he was the only black kid in class. It is even more pronounced as you go East from here a bit.

So they put out a lottery, and all the members of the community participate. The odds that a black person is even able to apply are quite low. Then you add on the requirements of having to have a fully functioning facility with employees ready to go except for product just to get an inspection, and all this with enough ready cash that you don't really need a bank because this is still against Federal law...

So up here it is white kids sellin' weed. The black kids don't even exist in sufficient numbers.

I am going to guess that Colorado has a similar, though perhaps not as pervasive, issue.

Where they do exist the onerous requirements this is all being done under preclude many from being able to even try, especially given that we incarcerate a much larger percentage of black folk by concentrating our efforts on them instead of just criminals, so their odds are much higher on failing at simply the application when it says "have you ever been convicted of...".

She's on point. I highly recommend her book.

http://newjimcrow.com/

""

What she said, within the current confines of society, is overwhelming true and based in nothing more than common sense. But she must have some other point or this in itself is a pointless exercise.

Keep the murderers and tax cheats and drug kingpins but release all those mother and fathers and sons and daughters whose crime was using and selling.

I would also not be opposed to withdrawing the convictions of small time mj dealers and users. It will open up opportunities in their lives.

Their prison/conviction records should be cleared of any wrongdoing for the "crimes" related to marijuana legality. It never should have been illegal to begin with and they never should have had to go through all that to begin with, imo.

to see her perspective on the big picture and to get more context on her quote in the OP.

http://newjimcrow.com/

I am completely uneducated as to whom she is but absolutely love the boldness of her quote. Hard to judge much more from the quote without more info. Thanks.

Last edited Fri Jun 6, 2014, 03:44 PM - Edit history (1)

That is a good thing.

With all the many threads decrying "woo" and the absolute need for scientific testing/validation… one would think it would dawn on even the most ardent potheads that when it comes to MEDICAL MARIJUANA there needs to be standardization.

EDIT TO INCLUDE- it is lamentable so many minorities have unfairly been targeted and suffered at the hands of the prison industrial complex.

But for those who grow their own MM, I'm not sure how any type of standardization would be feasible. Or even necessary for that matter. Most people who grow their own know what they are doing.

However people are allowed to grow up to 6 plants on their own w/a MM script. I'm personally not a fan of pot, but many people I know are; and 2 of them have prescriptions to grow their own.

If recreational use ever becomes legal here, I'd love to see the state allow people to grow and sell it as they would any other crop, provided the growers are licensed, pay their taxes, and abide by any other laws deemed necessary. After all, if small husband/wife operations are doable when it comes to microbreweries...

I could see it being very helpful for impoverished rural communities like mine.

Sorry. I got a bit off topic here. Just sort of thinking out loud, lol!

for fatal prescription painkillers - making bank off addicting the masses.

( But don't you be a black or poor white with a couple of those pills in your pocket without a scrip - instant felony conviction )

We live in a sick world, for sure.

But the bigger issue is after learning this and hearing about inequity on a daily basis regarding people of color and women, why is it exactly that we are worried about Republicans taking over the House and Senate?

Because everyone is going to vote, right?

...it should be FREE!!!! If they can sell it, why can't we grow it?

smile

It means we need to pardon all Marijuana offenses and clear the records of those convicted.

I know there is one black-owned club in my area. I know a few black enterprenuers growing and making edibles and topical. She is correct, for the most. It takes quite a bit of capital to open a club now.

Plants of your own. Victory farm & cost saving.

Talked to many people who bought tobacco for the major companies when I was working in it. They said when US market shrank, overseas they would go.
They also said to keep an eye on marijuana if it ever became legal on a widespread basis. The big companies were ready to roll to take over that market if it became large enough.

Scoff all you want. They have been planning way ahead for years. Overseas markets and diversifying their product base are only 2 of their strategies.

They won't move until it's completely legal federally--too dangerous otherwise.

By that time, it will already be legal in a number of states, where the industry will have been flourishing.

Maybe Big Tobacco can get some market share producing Walmart weed, but the industry will probably end up looking more like the wine industry than the tobacco industry.

...it will help black people and communities, who bear the brunt of racially disparate drug law enforcement.

https://www.aclu.org/criminal-law-reform/new-aclu-report-finds-overwhelming-racial-bias-marijuana-arrests

New ACLU Report Finds Overwhelming Racial Bias in Marijuana Arrests

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Groundbreaking Analysis Finds Marijuana Arrests Comprise Nearly Half of All Drug Arrests

June 4, 2013

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: 212-549-2666, media@aclu.org

NEW YORK – Black people are 3.7 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than white people despite comparable usage rates, according to a report released today by the American Civil Liberties Union. The report also found that marijuana arrests now make up nearly half of all drug arrests, with police making over 7 million marijuana possession arrests between 2001 and 2010. "The War on Marijuana in Black and White: Billions of Dollars Wasted on Racially Biased Arrests" is the first-ever report to examine nationwide state and county marijuana arrest data by race.

"The war on marijuana has disproportionately been a war on people of color," said Ezekiel Edwards, director of the ACLU Criminal Law Reform Project and one of the primary authors of the report. "State and local governments have aggressively enforced marijuana laws selectively against Black people and communities, needlessly ensnaring hundreds of thousands of people in the criminal justice system at tremendous human and financial cost."

The findings show that while there were pronounced racial disparities in marijuana arrests 10 years ago, they have grown significantly worse. In counties with the worst disparities, Blacks were as much as 30 times more likely to be arrested. The racial disparities exist in all regions of the U.S., as well as in both large and small counties, cities and rural areas, and in both high- and low-income communities. Disparities are also consistently high whether Blacks make up a small or a large percentage of a county's overall population.

Despite the fact that a majority of Americans now support marijuana legalization, states spent an estimated $3.61 billion enforcing marijuana possession laws in 2010 alone. New York and California combined spent over $1 billion. Even though many police departments across the country have made enforcement a priority for the past decade, the aggressive enforcement of marijuana laws has failed to eradicate or even diminish the use of marijuana.

"The aggressive policing of marijuana is time-consuming, costly, racially biased, and doesn't work," said Edwards. "These arrests have a significant detrimental impact on people's lives, as well as on the communities in which they live. When people are arrested for possessing even tiny amounts of marijuana, they can be disqualified from public housing or student financial aid, lose or find it more difficult to obtain employment, lose custody of their child, or be deported."

The ACLU calls for states to legalize, regulate and tax marijuana, which it says would eliminate the unfair racially- and community-targeted selective enforcement of marijuana laws. In addition, at a time when states are facing budget shortfalls, taxing and regulating would allow them to save millions of dollars currently spent on enforcement while raising millions more in revenue – money that can be invested in community and public health programs, including drug treatment.

If legalization is not possible, the ACLU recommends either depenalizing marijuana possession by removing all civil and criminal penalties or decriminalizing low-level marijuana possession, so that it becomes a civil offense. Finally, if decriminalization is not possible, the ACLU suggests deprioritizing police and prosecutorial enforcement of marijuana possession laws.

In the report, the organization also urges lawmakers and law enforcement to reform policing practices, including ending racial profiling as well as unconstitutional stops, frisks, and searches. It also recommends reforming state and federal funding streams and their performance measures that can incentivize police to make low-level drug arrests.

The report can be viewed here.