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Ice cream company Ben & Jerry & # 39; s was among the companies that called Saturday to draw attention to the inequalities that have become increasingly evident since more and more states began easing restrictions Cannabis – a change critics say has mainly benefited Caucasian and upper-class Americans.
The Vermont-based company, which has been openly talking about progressive causes since its opening in 1978, aired a petition late Friday, calling on Congress to extend the benefits of the growing destigmatization of marijuana to communities of color sentenced and disproportionately incarcerated . for drug-related crimes.
"Now that the pot is legal in 33 states and counts," she wrote April 20, popular appointment in the cultivation of cannabis, "cannabis fans can celebrate openly and in style in more places than ever before. And even if you're not in a state where the pot is legalized, there's still a good chance that the cops will not bother you if you spend 4/20 to do your job. "
"If you are a white man," the petition added.
Legal clinics that sell cannabis for recreation and health are generating an industry that is expected to be worth $ 20 billion by 2020, the company writes. But even in states where marijuana has been legalized, arrests for possession of the substance still disproportionately target black Americans.
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"Let's be clear: even with increased legalization, hundreds of thousands of people are still being arrested for committing marijuana," Ben & Jerry's wrote. "And most of these people are black – New York blacks, for example, are eight times more likely to be arrested for buying pot than whites."
In the meantime, according to one buzzfeed 2018 report, "Based on more than 150 interviews with clinic owners, industry insiders and vendors who interact with many pot shops, it appears that fewer than three dozen of the 3,200 to 3,600 marijuana dispensaries located in the United States are owned by blacks – about one percent.
Ben & Jerry's asked his supporters to ask Congress to rescind the previous marijuana convictions and begin to forgive those convicted of cannabis possession only, in order to "ensure legalization." benefits everyone ".
Saturday afternoon, more than 21,000 people signed the petition.
The topic of social equity in relation to cannabis was a topic of discussion for many in the press and on social media on Saturday, with the Washington Post reports on efforts in Oakland, California, to donate at least half of its cannabis retail licenses to social equity candidates – including people convicted of marijuana – and to Sacramento for give preferential treatment to licenses in neighborhoods affected by the war on drugs.
"We chose the cannabis industry and now we need to make sure it works for all our people," said Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg at the Center. To post.
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