The unbearable whiteness of weed: Canada's booming cannabis industry has a race problem CHUKA EJECKA

[Judi Lynn]

CHUKA EJECKAM
CONTRIBUTED TO THE GLOBE AND MAIL
PUBLISHED 1 DAY AGO

Chuka Ejeckam studies political science and public policy at the University of British Columbia. His work focuses on drug policy and inequality, the latter both political and economic.

The Canadian cannabis industry is booming. From giant industrial operations such as Canopy Growth to smaller “luxury” cannabis retailers, to an array of cannabis “lifestyle” brands and “cannabis brand consultancy” firms, the industry is a lucrative frontier for those seeking wealth in a rapidly growing market.

And oh, is there wealth to be had. Canadians spent $1.6-billion on legal weed in 2018 – double the total spent on medical cannabis the year before – despite the fact that non-medical cannabis was legally available only after Oct. 17. Statistics Canada’s National Cannabis Survey from the first quarter of 2019 found that use of non-medical cannabis has increased among men and people aged 45 to 64. The survey reported that 646,000 people tried cannabis for the first time in the prior three months, half of whom were aged 45 or older.

The non-medical cannabis market in Canada, too, is increasingly treated like any other for-profit industry. The Globe and Mail’s reporting on CannTrust Holdings’ unlicensed production scandal reads like any other kind of corporate controversy, with the language of alleged executive misbehaviour, market shares, and intra-industry maneuvering. Cannabis is quickly becoming mainstream, and – as is the norm for our capitalist society – firmly corporate.

This is a failure. As non-medical cannabis shifts from a criminal offence to a legal commercial product, revenue from legal weed should be used to fund meaningful reparations for communities targeted for decades by racist drug laws and enforcement. However, even a surface-level analysis of the rapidly growing cannabis industry in Canada reveals a troubling trend: The profits and wealth being generated are overwhelmingly landing in the pockets of white Canadians.

More:
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-the-unbearable-whiteness-of-weed/

[dixiegrrrrl]

1. Reading the stats/research of who is buying the stuff...

Tells me there is good chance for total legalization very soon. I can't believe how many products for pot and CBD, alone or from the whole leaf, are now available.

[marble falls]

2. And advertised all over tv.