NEW YORK – On November 14, Vice President Harris’ presidential campaign announced a plan to create and expand economic opportunities for Black men in the United States, including provisions to federally legalize marijuana and ensure Black men can benefit from regulated markets. This is important because marijuana criminalization and targeted enforcement have disproportionately harmed Black men, stealing wealth from Black communities and creating lasting barriers to stable employment, housing, and economic opportunities. Further, a combination of federal prohibition and a patchwork of state legalization programs have blocked many Black men from benefitting from legal marijuana programs.
In response, Drug Policy Action released the following statement that lays out what is needed to fulfill Harris’ promises to Black men for a regulated marijuana market that works for them:
“We are thrilled to see Vice President Harris formally endorse federal marijuana legalization and commit to making the legal regulation of marijuana work for Black men. This is a historic step in the right direction, as well as a promise that has been made – and broken to Black communities countless times in the years since states began to implement legalization programs,” said Kassandra Frederique, Executive Director of Drug Policy Action.
Frederique continued: “In state after state, we’ve seen large corporations reap the benefits of legal marijuana markets while Black entrepreneurs struggle to compete due to laws and regulations that create unnecessarily high barriers and benefit the well-resourced rather than those most impacted by criminalization. We’ve seen criminal records and workplace drug testing keep Black men out of stable employment, even in states that have legalized marijuana. We’ve seen the same Black communities that were harassed, incarcerated, and drained of resources because of marijuana criminalization continue to experience disproportionate arrest rates post-legalization and see none of the benefits or tax revenue generated from state regulation.”
“We’ve also seen some state marijuana laws with intentional racial equity provisions successfully uplift Black entrepreneurs, prioritize the participation of people who have been criminalized for marijuana in legal markets, and reinvest capital back into communities that have borne the brunt of criminalization,” said Cat Packer, Director of Drug Markets and Legal Regulation at Drug Policy Action.
“Here is what Vice President Harris must do, if elected, to make marijuana regulation finally work for Black men.
Address the ongoing barriers to economic opportunity that federal marijuana criminalization creates for Black men. Remove marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act and pursue federal marijuana legalization and regulation. Resentence and expunge marijuana convictions, eliminate unnecessary workplace marijuana testing, and create pathways for people who have been criminalized for marijuana to succeed in the regulated market.
Ensure that within all the opportunities created by federal legalization and regulation, Black men can fully participate and reap the benefits. Regulation must support Black men in accessing capital and ensure fair pay and protections for workers. Legal regulation must intentionally ward off corporate capture and reinvest marijuana tax revenue into the communities that have been most harmed by criminalization.
People most directly impacted by criminalization, like Black men, need to be in decision-making roles for the regulation of marijuana and repair of communities.
“Black men are not a monolith. They are fathers, veterans, business owners, workers, people who use marijuana, and people who have faced incarceration. Bold and far-reaching approaches are needed at the federal level to address the diverse needs of this population and ensure that legal marijuana markets build Black wealth, strengthen communities, and finally deliver on the unfulfilled promise of regulated marijuana that works for Black men,” said Packer.
About Drug Policy Action
Drug Policy Action works to pass new drug laws and policies grounded in evidence, health, equity, and human rights — and undertakes a wide range of activities including political advocacy and electoral work to support these principles. Drug Policy Action is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit 501(c)(4) organization, and is the advocacy partner of the Drug Policy Alliance.
