ICYMI
Hello Higher-Minded Humans!
ICYMI: I wrote a deep dive about the current crisis state of cannabis, through the lens of feminism for DAME magazine (one of my favorite independent publications of all time).
In fact, cannabis has begun to mirror the very corporate structures and exclusionary practices it once claimed to disrupt. Only 15 states have implemented a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) component in their cannabis programs—most of which have been poorly executed or underfunded.
Even before the current political backlash against DEI, well-funded operators were quietly undermining efforts to correct the harm of the War on Drugs, like the rollout of seed-to-sale tracking—a pay-to-play scenario where companies must afford a license to grow and sell cannabis on the wholesale market—and the high cost associated with gaining the license to be able to participate. The seed-to-sale system shuts out independent growers who were previously able to participate before the database was introduced.