Racism, injustice and the hypocrisy of drug policy "reforms".

I work in the space, so I tend to use drug policy as an example of racism and injustice in the US. And before you mention it—yes, both the Left and the Right are culpable. 

Let’s talk about crack. Re: pharmacological effect on users, crack and powder cocaine are virtually indistinguishable. The US Sentencing Commission (a federal agency) has testified before Congress three times—with the support of the medical community, prosecutors, experts, etc.—that there is *NO* scientific basis for disparities in punishment. And no, this isn't a recent finding; their first recommendation was in 1995.

And yet, the 100:1 sentencing ratio remained in place from 1986 to 2010. 

In 2010, we saw the first piece of federal legislation addressing this. Progress, yes. Justice? Absolutely not. The 2010 Act didn't actually eliminate the disparity—it's now 18:1. The same substance, the same effects and yet insanely different punishments, solely because of the race of user (and that's a myth too—there have & continue to be more white crack users than Black ones).

Even if one were to ignore the disproportionate damage US drug *policy* has had on Black communities, there's the purely ideological element. Why should we be happy with legislation that—even today—is so nakedly discriminatory? In what world is this equal justice under the law? Our leaders (rightly) champion a compassionate, public health approach to the (white) opioid crisis. And yet at the same time, nobody's lifting a finger on this issue. I mean, we're not even asking for a similar, compassionate response! All we're asking is lawmakers make the (draconian, counterproductive) punishments for the substances *THE SAME*. And yet, there's still pushback.

There's a similar argument to be made for marijuana. Even if one were to ignore the fact that decriminalization doesn't really make an impact on the number of cannabis arrests / police encounters (actually, it oftentimes has the opposite effect).... why should we be happy with a policy that not only continues to perpetuate—but in a way, further enshrines into law—the lived reality of marijuana = cool, funny and potentially very lucrative if you're white... illegal and immoral if you're Black? 

I’ve had countless conversations with smart, generally social justice-minded people over the years, including many *working* in the cannabis industry—and they're either ignorant to the fact (or honestly, just don't care) that millions of (predominantly BIPOC) people continue to be arrested for cannabis *at the same time* white operators are celebrated for selling millions of dollars of the stuff.

I cannot tell you how often I hear justifications for excluding legacy operators from state-legal markets = “well, they don't respect the law". It baffles the mind. Somehow, they’ve conveniently forgotten that neither do they. Remember, cannabis is still federally illegal; if they wanted to, the DEA would be well within their rights to go ahead and arrest every state-legal operator *today*. 

But while I wish private businesses would do more to effectuate and support equitable policies, it’s not really on them. It’s on our leaders. They were lying then, they’re lying now—and it’s infuriating we’re supposed to be gracious about a little (ineffective!) “benevolence” in enforcement.