The unbearable whiteness of weed: Canada’s booming cannabis industry has a race problem
“Equity permit” programs have failed to address the domination of the legal market by people who are generally most privileged and least affected by cannabis’s previous illegality
Friday, August 2, 2019
The Canadian cannabis industry is booming. From giant industrial operations such as Canopy Growth to smaller “luxury” cannabis retailers, to an array of cannabis “lifestyle” brands and “cannabis brand consultancy” firms, the industry is a lucrative frontier for those seeking wealth. Canadians spent $1.6-billion on legal weed in 2018. Cannabis is quickly becoming mainstream, and – as is the norm for our capitalist society – firmly corporate. This is a failure. Revenue from legal weed should be used to fund meaningful reparations for communities targeted for decades by racist drug laws and enforcement. The rapidly growing cannabis industry in Canada reveals a troubling trend: The profits and wealth being generated are overwhelmingly landing in the pockets of white Canadians.
