02/17/2025
Corporate Cannabis vs. Legacy Cannabis: Who Really Profits?
The legal cannabis industry is booming, but letās be realāwhoās actually benefitting? While large corporations and wealthy investors, many of whom had no connection to cannabis until it became legal, are raking in billions, Black and brown communitiesāthe very people disproportionately impacted by the War on Drugsāare still struggling to gain a foothold in the legal market. Even worse, many are still sitting in prison for the same plant thatās now making others rich.
For decades, cannabis was criminalized, tearing apart Black families and communities. Now, as legalization sweeps the nation, white-owned corporations dominate the industry while many legacy operatorsāthose who paved the way by growing, selling, and advocating for cannabis before it was legalāare locked out due to expensive licensing fees, restrictive regulations, and systemic barriers to entry.
This isnāt just about business; itās about justice. Itās about equity. Itās about ensuring that the people who suffered most from prohibition arenāt left behind now that cannabis is mainstream.
We need real social equity programs that provide access to capital, resources, and opportunities for Black entrepreneurs in cannabis. We need automatic expungements and releases for those still incarcerated for nonviolent cannabis offenses. We need to stop prioritizing corporate profits over the people who built this industry from the ground up.
Cannabis legalization was supposed to be a movement, not just a money grab. Letās make sure we donāt let history repeat itself.