• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Cannabis News
  • Lifestyle
  • Wellness
  • Edibles
  • Product Reviews
  • Back Issues
  • Subscribe
Cannabis News and Culture Magazine – The Emerald Media

Cannabis News and Culture Magazine - The Emerald Media

Cannabis News and Culture Magazine

Emerald Media News Subscription
  • Four DIY Smoking Devices
  • Try Flintts Mints
  • Calculate Edibles Dosage
  • 100 Black-Owned Cannabis Businesses
  • Nupol Kiazolu
  • The Dookie Brothers
  • CBD Sports Cream

What BuzzFeed’s Article on Racism in Law Enforcement Means for Minority Cannabis Users

June 13, 2019 by Rita Thompson 1 Comment

parked police

It’s no secret that racism continues to disproportionately affect minority cannabis users, sellers and growers in prohibition states. Now, with Buzzfeed recently publishing a collaborative article with Injustice Watch, exposing the severity of racism in law enforcement, it’s become more important than ever to expose and fight these issues within the industry.

After a surveillance video of a liquor store clerk pulling a gun on a suspected robber surfaced on Facebook, paired with violent and disrespectful comments from Philadelphia police officers, Buzzfeed and Injustice Watch decided it was time to make their voices known.

Among the cases noted are a South Carolina police officer who posted a photo in Confederate flag boxers just days after a white supremacist killed nine black churchgoers, and a Chicago police officer who took to Facebook to state, “Every Thug Deserves a Slug.” The Plain View Project, examining accounts of officers across the country, found that one in five current officers has been found online “displaying bias, applauding violence, scoffing at due process, or using dehumanizing language.” That’s right, 20 percent.

Although not completely shocked by these numbers due to the lack of consequences for overly aggressive law enforcement, the severity of the bigoted and racist comments has struck a chord of utter disgust and disappointment. While officers continue to spread hate without consequences, those civilians who are continuously faced with inequality are forced to question this injustice in silence.

Making matters so important to the Emerald, though, are these findings reflecting on the disproportionate enforcement of cannabis laws in the prohibition states. While we know that minorities and residents of impoverished neighborhoods continuously bear the brunt of policing, this fact is even more heightened when it comes to cannabis laws. According to research by the ACLU, despite roughly equal usage rates, blacks are 3.73 times more likely than whites to be arrested for marijuana. And while it’s easy to interpret increasing legalization as a sign of progress, billions of dollars have already been wasted on racially biased arrests.

While a former Baltimore police officer argues that these posts may just be expressions of recognition of the dangerous field in which they work, comments alluding to minorities as savages and animals present something much more serious.

How can one be expected to respect and feel protected by authorities who continue to diminish and unjustly stomp on them?

Filed Under: Current, Lifestyle Tagged With: law enforcement, Main Gallery Images

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Doug Feldenzer says

    June 13, 2019 at 6:27 pm

    Great article

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Advertise Here

Categories

Cannabis Business News

Emerald Cannabis Business Directory: Wisconsin

April 18, 2021 By Emerald Media Group

Emerald Cannabis Business Directory: Washington

April 18, 2021 By Emerald Media Group

Emerald Cannabis Business Directory: Vermont

April 18, 2021 By Emerald Media Group

Emerald Cannabis Business Directory: Virginia

April 18, 2021 By Emerald Media Group

Emerald Cannabis Business Directory: Texas

April 18, 2021 By Emerald Media Group

Footer

  • Subscribe
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Press
  • Investor Relations

Recent

  • Emerald Cannabis Business Directory: Wyoming
  • Emerald Cannabis Business Directory: Wisconsin
  • Emerald Cannabis Business Directory: Washington
  • Emerald Cannabis Business Directory: Vermont
  • Emerald Cannabis Business Directory: Virginia

Search

Copyright © 2021 · Emerald Media · Cannabis News & Lifestyle Magazine

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings.

Cannabis News and Culture Magazine - The Emerald Media
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.