Social Justice

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has replaced a member of the Cannabis Regulatory Commission after the NAACP criticized the commission for not meeting its own social equity requirements.

Evanston, Illinois is ready to start sending $25,000 reparation payments to help Black residents afford housing in the north Chicago neighborhood. The payments will be funded by a 3% tax on adult-use cannabis.

Alvin Edwards is the founder of Fruits of Our Labor, which hires former prisoners to provide professional services; David Moss is the chief development officer for cannabis dispensary From the Earth. Together, they have created an equity-building partnership in cannabis.

Jay-Z has established a $10 million fund to benefit minority-owned startups in the cannabis industry.

Andy Cox, who was convicted in 2005 and sentenced to life for cultivating cannabis, has been set free after spending 13 years in prison.

Activists with Montco NORML have started using old newspaper bins to distribute pardon applications for cannabis convictions throughout Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.

A new Marijuana Diversion Program in Linn County, Iowa aims to prevent criminal records for first-time offenders caught with “a user quantity amount” of cannabis.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has commuted the sentence of Michael Thompson, who was sentenced to 60 years in prison after selling cannabis to an undercover police officer in 1996.

Fate Winslow, a Louisiana man who in 2008 was sentenced to life in prison over a $20 weed deal, has been set free following a successful appeal.

The drug war is a long-documented instrument of institutional racism — but it’s also symptomatic of a much larger system that has worked to maintain the status quo for generations. This editorial explores the lessons learned and correlations to our future as we experience the crumbling of cannabis prohibition.

Richard DeLisi, who has served 31 years of a 90-year prison sentence for nonviolent cannabis convictions, is set for an early release this winter in time to spend Christmas with his family.

Sean Worsley, the Purple Heart recipient and PTSD patient who was arrested in Alabama in 2016 for possessing medical cannabis, has been released from prison after he was approved for parole last month.

New Jersey Assemblyman Jamel Holley is calling for the immediate end of minor cannabis arrests and prosecutions after the state’s landslide vote in favor of legalization.

With legalization the big winner in Tuesday night’s election, what other cannabis justice measures prevailed?

Michael Thompson — the Flint, Michigan man who in 1994 was sentenced to 40-60 years for cannabis sales — will get a public parole hearing this November after 25 years of imprisonment.

Sean Worsley, an Iraq War veteran and Purple Heart recipient who was facing a multi-year prison sentence for cannabis possession in Alabama, has been released on parole.

Washington state is one of the latest to address social equity in the cannabis industry, but business owners and potential social equity applicants say they have concerns about the state’s plan.

Jen Jackson is the founder and CEO of Be Jubie, a Baltimore-based CBD brand with a focus on wellness, restoration, education, and social justice.

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed an executive order this morning issuing pardons to 2,732 Coloradans with convictions for possessing one ounce or less of cannabis.

Judge Samuel Junkin in Pickens County, Alabama has denied a motion to release disabled Iraq war veteran Sean Worsely from jail for cannabis possession, despite a community supervision agreement for Worsely that included an employment offer and stable, local housing options.

Playboy Enterprises is joining cannabis advocates in a social equity and social justice awareness campaign to push for the “legalization, decriminalization and destigmatization of cannabis.”

A military vet who was sentenced to life in prison for selling $30 worth of cannabis to an undercover Louisiana police officer was recently resentenced to time served and will be released from prison.

Veteran Sean Worsley stopped for gas in Gordo, Alabama to pump gas for his wife on a family road trip to his grandmother’s house. While pumping gas he was laughing and playing air guitar. He was approached by Gordo PD for violating a noise ordinance with his music, and the events that unfolded from there would change his life forever.

With the legalization and regulation of cannabis, numerous states have attempted to address the lasting harms of the drug war by creating social equity grants for entrepreneurs from impacted communities. In Massachusetts, a bill is being considered that would offer loans instead.