Black History Month and Cannabis Amnesty

Cannabis Amnesty

Thumbs Up Brand is a proud partner of Cannabis Amnesty - a not-for-profit that is lobbying for the freedom of people convicted for cannabis-related charges. While cannabis is legal here in Canada, there are still many people behind bars and with scarred criminal records for these nonviolent crimes. Cannabis Amnesty is comprehensively working towards the immediate dissolution of policies regulating the War on Drugs as the first step in remedying the injustices experienced by Black Canadians. Cannabis has been legal since 2018. While we all are collectively overjoyed by this progressive leap, let’s not ignore the elephant in the room. The reality is that racialized Canadians have been disproportionately overrepresented for cannabis convictions - the bulk of these convictions being Black and Indigenous people. This is no coincidence and the reality remains even today as much of the government’s resources continue to keep minorities in jail for simple cannabis-related charges. As many of us continue to celebrate cannabis legalization in Canada, an estimated 500,000 Canadians have a criminal record for cannabis possession. Thousands of Canadians with criminal convictions for non-violent, minor cannabis offences remain behind bars without hope. To better understand the Canadian legal system and its nuances in cannabis, let’s take a deeper look at our history.

A look at history - Canada’s War on Drugs

Throughout the history of drug prohibition in Canada, the majority of police-reported drug offences involved cannabis. In fact, in 2013, most police-reported offenses that involved drugs were in relation to the plant. From 2008 to 2012, a whopping 75,000 cannabis-related cases were pushed through our court system. As these prosecutions in Canada took up a profound amount of public resources, it became clear that laws that criminalized cannabis possession for personal use had a disproportionate impact on Black and Indigenous people as well as other POC. Another staggering fact: Black people with no priors/criminal convictions were 3x more likely to be arrested for weed possession than White people in the city with similar backgrounds. An unfair disparity has existed in the Black community and continues to linger today.

Ignorance is not bliss

While many Canadians continue to live in gratitude for our progressive cannabis laws here in the North, we have a civic duty to be aware of the devastating impact of drug prohibition on racialized populations. Looking back in Canadian history, Mulroney waged a War on Drugs in 1986. We were on track to follow America’s footsteps in targeting and convicting young black males for drug charges - filling prisons up while effectively embedding systemic racism into our society. By the time 1992-93 rolled around, Black admissions to provincial prisons for drug trafficking increased by several thousand percent, clearly making them a primary target. 

Source: Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press

Getting the conversation started

Notable truth-seekers, like columnist Jim Rankin, brought light to this atrocity in an article he wrote called “Unequal justice: Indigenous and black inmates disproportionately fill Ontario jails”. Here, he discusses that the overrepresentation of Indigenous and Black people in the criminal justice system are ultimately a product of systemic racism as both groups have been alienated through poverty, unequal opportunity, violence or social isolation. This was a conversation that many were not having back in 2013. Between 2003 and 2013, Black people accounted for 25% of cannabis arrests in Toronto even though they only made up just 8% of the population. 

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In a pursuit for justice, in 2018, VICE News’ Rachael Brown published a special series called “Black and Indigenous people are overrepresented in Canada's weed arrests”. Brown puts a spotlight on just how widespread convictions of different minorities for drug related charges were, from coast to coast. At minimum, it is important to have this conversation and continue to advocate for amnesty for all.

Who is Cannabis Amnesty?

Now that we’re all caught up in Canadian history, let's talk about Cannabis Amnesty. Cannabis Amnesty is a not-for-profit group of lawyers, scholars, activists and entrepreneurs brought together by the belief that the harms caused by decades of cannabis prohibition must be made right. In 2018, when cannabis was legalized, they started as a campaign pushing for the elimination of simple cannabis possession criminal records. While being in full support of legalization, Cannabis Amnesty saw that this elimination/pardon was something that was grossly overlooked in Canada’s legislation plan. As people are continuing to be punished for something that is no longer illegal, Cannabis Amnesty felt compelled to act. They knew and understood the harsh reality that unequal enforcement of cannabis laws in Canada had a disproportionate impact on black, indigneous and other racialized communities. It became clear that Cannabis policy reform was not only a question of justice but also an integral part of the fight against systemic racism in Canada. With this said, Cannabis Amnesty demands justice, fairness and equality for all. They remain mindful of seeking amnesty for the early cannabis pioneers and advocates, many of whom are BIPOC or vulnerable members of society.  

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What’s been done and how is Cannabis Amnesty helping? 

Cannabis Amnesty pushed for a legislative reform in 2018 and in 2019, bill C-93 passed by the federal government that expedited pardons for simple cannabis possession. While this incorporated many of Cannabis Amnesty’s recommendations, its reach was limited and was not enough. Today, they continue to lobby the government to completely delete criminal records for simple cannabis convictions. Cannabis Amnesty has expanded their mandate to focus on 3 areas where racialized and indigenous communities continue to be disadvantaged in the cannabis space

  1. Improving representation and accountability in the legal cannabis industry

  2. Addressing the collateral consequences of cannabis convictions including barriers to employment, education, housing, travel, and volunteering

  3. Advocating for criminal justice reform including an end to illegal police actions such as racial profiling. Cannabis Amnesty advocates for reforms that ensure legal structures that allowed racialized and marginalized communities to be overrepresented in cannabis prosecutions are dismantled

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A Call to Action 

Black History Month is celebrated as we honour the legacy of Black Canadians and their communities. Here at Thumbs Up Brand, we are especially mindful of our Canadian history and the lingering marginalization that persists in society today. We commend Cannabis Amnesty as their cause truly resonates with what we believe in. Afterall, the legal cannabis industry wouldn’t exist today had it not been for early cannabis pioneers, often Black/Indigenous/POC, who’ve paved the way for us. It is up to us to acknowledge these racial injustices and use legalization as a means of repairing the harms of prohibition. How can you help? A great place to start is by checking out the many resources Cannabis Amnesty has on their site. And don’t forget that 10% of all Thumbs Up Brand products goes directly to Cannabis Amnesty as a part of our 10% For Good mission. While smoking up and having fun is important, giving back and doing good is a must for us.

Kamal