The industry would provide new pathways not only in business, but agriculture, technology and science.
by Anton Seals, Jr.
Equity is a word that has become tres chic these days. Everyone seems to want to commit to implementing some sort of equity framework. At the core of the notion of equity is the fundamental fact that the United States created a system that primarily benefits those with resources and power.
Power and resources are reflected in the huge racial wealth gap. Some in power are not able to acknowledge—or, in fact, refuse to acknowledge—that we are still bound by old deeds and actions of the racial hierarchy system created to maintain white dominance in American culture. A reckoning of these facts is something our country continues to struggle to move beyond.
Enter the legalization of cannabis, which, at its core, is about tax revenue and creating open markets to develop a robust industry in this state—a state that desperately needs revenue and oversight against corruption.
The legalization of adult-use recreational cannabis in Illinois also serves as a beginning, acknowledging that the failed war on drugs was just that, a war that was waged and targeted in black and brown neighborhoods across the nation.
Comments