Las Vegas Cannabis Dispensary Jardín Donates $11,000 To The Buried Alive Project, 'It's Our Responsibility'

Life is full of injustices, isn’t it?

Some people are still behind bars serving sentences for cannabis convictions while large corporations are earning big bucks in a new practically legal industry.

Fortunately, there is an appropriately named organization - The Buried Alive Project -  fighting for the release of people still serving harsh sentences handed down under the now outdated federal drug laws. Co-founded by Brittany K. Barnett, the project has so far helped free more than 50 people who had been in prison for more than 10 years.

The team behind Buried Alive provides pro-bono legal work, but they still need all the support they can get. Barnett said the cash won't change draconian pot laws still on the books across the country, but it could help right decades-old wrongs because free legal aid isn't cheap.

Dispensary Steps In To Help

Las Vegas cannabis dispensary Jardín decided to join the mission. The pot shop donated all of the proceeds it collected on Juneteenth or about $11,000 reported KTNV-TV. 

"Essentially the same transaction that we are doing today, they were doing then," said Jardín marketing director Semii Gebreyonas. "However, it cost them their lives."

Gebreyonas called on those in a position of power or leadership to do something to end the injustice of incarcerating people for marijuana possession. "It's our responsibility," Gebreyonas added.

The Buried Alive Project has an archive with numerous videos that capture the moments when people walk out of prison for the first time, some after a decade or more, and hug their families and friends.

"The gravest impact of this utterly failed war on drugs, to me, is the impact on people," Barnett said. "Human lives. Real people. This is no joke."

One of their clients had this to say about the unfair criminal justice system: "People are selling marijuana today and getting a life savings. I sold marijuana and got a life sentence,” he said.

Barnett reminded us all that "there is nothing more urgent than freedom.”

She noted that those who wish to help their mission can do so via the Buried Alive Project Website.

Photo by Fakurian Design on Unsplash