Thank you for visiting.
Please confirm you are over 21 years of age.
*Congrats to Vermont – 1st state to outlaw plastic cannabis packaging * Help support VT Racial Justice Alliance’s Richard Kemp Center * Cannabis Flood Relief: Higher Calling crvt.org *Congrats to Vermont – 1st state to outlaw plastic cannabis packaging * Help support VT Racial Justice Alliance’s Richard Kemp Center * Cannabis Flood Relief: Higher Calling crvt.org *Congrats to Vermont – 1st state to outlaw plastic cannabis packaging * Help support VT Racial Justice Alliance’s Richard Kemp Center * Cannabis Flood Relief: Higher Calling crvt.org
Click to expand
and learn about the
origins and
outcomes of The War on Drugs.
The War On Drugs Began When Alcohol Prohibition Ended
Prior to the end of alcohol prohibition, Harry Anslinger, the head of the Department of Prohibition, claimed that cannabis was not a problem and did not harm people. But when prohibition ended, Harry was out of a job. So he changed his tune and set about creating a new prohibition. His reasoning?
“Most (pot smokers) are Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos and entertainers. Their Satanic music, jazz and swing result from marijuana use. This marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers and any others.” —Harry Anslinger
Harry distorted medical evidence, cherry picked news coverage and made his racist case. He was successful in that undertaking and became the first Head of the Federal Narcotics Bureau. As such, he pushed for mandatory minimum sentencing.
Today, his influence persists. Cannabis is a Schedule 1 drug—the same category as heroin. From then til now, the War on Drugs (first so named by President Richard Nixon) has targeted lower income Black and Brown people thru over policing, discriminatory prosecution, and discriminatory sentencing.
That’s why despite using pot at the same rate, Black people are 4 times more likely to be arrested than Whites. And our jails are filled with a disproportionate number of Black people. It’s hard to comprehend the magnitude of the fallout and reverberations from being arrested without enough money to pay for a good lawyer:
First you lose your job when you’re held in jail awaiting trial because you can’t afford bail.
Then you’re sentenced to a jail term and your family and social life is destroyed. The people who depended upon you and your income are left in the lurch.
Your soul is battered by the realities of life behind bars. Eventually you’re released with no money, no job, and often broken family and social relationships.
Decarcerate
Release all those who are still in prison (and still being arrested) for non violent cannabis crimes.
Expunge
Erase criminal records for non violent cannabis crimes. That would make it possible for victims of the war on drugs to get loans, mortgages, jobs, financial aid for college, subsidized housing and other government assistance.
Deschedule
The whole basis for the drug war is that the federal government puts pot on Schedule 1— the same category as heroin. Schedule 1 is supposed to be for drugs that have a serious risk of addiction and no medical benefit. That doesn’t apply to pot. But it does apply to beer. So we say to the Feds— Take Pot Off Schedule 1 Or Put Beer On It.
Put your money where your mouth is
While Black people have born the brunt of the war on drugs, only 4% of cannabis businesses nationwide are owned by Black people.
Some states have social equity legislation that makes it easier for people in communities victimized by the drug war to get licenses to own and operate cannabis businesses.
But lack of access to capital makes it extremely difficult to grow a business.
0%
of our profits are devoted to grants to Black cannabis entrepreneurs. We’ve also established a low interest loan fund for
BIPOC cannabis entrepreneurs.
Both the grant and loan program are administered in partnership with NuLeaf Project, a Black led non profit organization.
0%
of our profits are donated to the Vermont Racial Justice Alliance
The Vermont Racial Justice Alliance is a Black led racial justice organization whose mission is to secure sustainable power, ensure agency, and provide security for American Descendants of Slavery, while embracing their history and preserving their culture.
0%
of our profits are donated to the Last Prisoner Project
Last Prisoner Project is the pre eminiment national organization working to decarcerate, expunge, and provide services to those who have been convicted of cannabis offenses.
One of the results of generations of discrimination against Black Americans in most parts of life (including education, employment, housing, government programs, and banking) is that the average Black family has 1/10th the wealth of an average White family.
That disparity gets passed down from generation to generation. The Small Business Administration reports that collectively Black owned businesses account for 1.3% of sales in the US.
Integrated Packaging Company
provides the corrugated cardboard boxes that we use for shipping and point of purchase displays
Eddie Opara
and his team at Pentagram does our graphics and design
Roots
provides our printed apparel and posters
Our Mission is to sell Great Pot and
use the power of our business toRight the Wrongs of the War on Drugs.
OM=GP+RWWD
Table of Contents
Background
Advocacy
Investment
Vendors and Partners