As we know the cannabis industry is growing tremendously as more places in the U.S begin to legalize medicinal and recreational marijuana. There has also been a rise in YT “progressives” capitalizing off of marijuana by starting lucrative businesses. All over the country people are opening dispensaries, and promoting their cannabis businesses on Instagram. Other movements such as “Marijuana Moms” have been getting a lot of attention in the media in the last two years; YT women being praised for sharing how marijuana has improved their parenting and also helped them cope with stress. While YT people have the privilege to romanticize weed, black and brown communities have been disproportionately incarcerated and criminalized for using and selling the same drug. The idea that weed makes people become lazy and stupid has been perpetuated in black and brown communities for years. Nevertheless, YT people are not being penalized for recreational marijuana use and if so, they definitely aren’t spending years in jail like black and brown folks are. Although the fight for legalizing recreational marijuana has been going on for what seems like forever, its becoming popularized more and more. Influencers are hosting smoke events like “Puff & Paint” and throwing cannabis brunches; weed is becoming trendy. I guess I’m ranting about this because I understand how fetishizing over “hood” culture is going be a direct effect of legalizing recreational weed. When black and brown folks are selling marijuana to support themselves and families we are always criminalized for it.
How do we liberate ourselves from a system that is fighting to keep us in chains, for participating in the the very things they say is destroying our communities while they make a profit?
Queen Media Collective 