Those Most Victimized Should Benefit From The Legalization Of Cannabis Through A Reparative Justice Lens

By Fab 5 Freddy, Founder of B NOBLE, Director of Grass is Greener

As a member of the hip-hop and creative community, I have never shied away from speaking about cannabis and its robust world history and its impact on health and wellness. From the Jazz Age, where the plant was popularized in song by architects of America's music like Louis Armstrong, Cab Calloway, Fats Waller and Trixie Smith in the early twentieth century, The Beatles & Neil Diamond in the 60’s, Jamaican reggae artists Like Peter Tosh &  Bob Marley in the 70’s and 80’s, the 90s with Cypress Hill, Method Man, Redman and Snoop, to current times and artists like, Wiz Khalifa, Kid Cudi and Lil Wayne, have all championed the benefits of weed, the artist community continues to be a loud and vocal advocate.

More recently, the community has come together to shine a light on the dark, systemically racist system that cannabis is a part of. In the film I directed called Grass is Greener, featuring cameos from many of the icons I mentioned, we learn that despite its ties to health and wellness, cannabis has long been criminalized as a way to continue the slavery of people of color — and for financial gain as this is now a growth industry still in its early stages.

And that view is changing — as of April, 2021,18 states and the District of Columbia have legalized small amounts of marijuana for adult use — weed has become a billion-dollar industry fueled by more than 7,000 dispensaries nationwide. Nevertheless, possession of cannabis still can bring prison time, and Black and brown people are still 3.6 more times likely than White people to be arrested for it so there’s still much work to be done. 

Today cannabis arrests still represent 43 percent of all drug-related arrests in the United States. Many people of color sit incarcerated — or have had their lives derailed — while others are reaping the benefits of this fast-growing business. Take the case of my friend, Bernard Noble, the namesake for our cannabis brand B NOBLE. Bernard is a Black man previously incarcerated in Louisiana for having $5 worth of marijuana in his possession. He served seven years of a 13-year sentence, hard labor. For him, the equivalent of two joints led to the loss of precious years away from his children and his loved ones.

There are countless others like him. 

What happens to these individuals after they leave prison? We know the system is unkind to those who have experienced our justice system first-hand, especially when it comes to finding employment, housing and re-integrating into our communities in general. These challenges make recidivism likely. It’s stories like this that have me committed to championing change. We must right this ongoing legacy of wrongs on both a local and systemic level. Commercial cannabis is leaving out vulnerable individuals who could turn their lives around for the better and make an honest living after unjust treatment. 

This is why B NOBLE and I have partnered with Curaleaf CURLF, one of the largest cannabis operators in the world, that is also committed to doing the work necessary to help right the wrongs of the racist War on Drugs. Through their Rooted in Good initiative, we aim to:

• Acknowledge the harm done to black & brown communities by the criminalization of cannabis
• Highlight and address the negative impact on these community
• Open opportunities in the industry to black & brown community members

To do this, we have developed high-quality pre-roll two packs, of which 10 percent of the proceeds will go to local organizations in the various states the brand is now selling in that provides the necessary support and resources for returning citizens. Our goal is to put cannabis currency back into the communities hurt the most by its criminalization. This is just one step in a long journey. I can only imagine that those who stand by me and those who come after me will move with the same intention behind our motto: Be noble, be educated, be loud.

* Watch Fab 5 Freddy and Bernard Noble on Benzinga Cannabis Hour with Javier Hasse and Elliot Lane.