Passing New Jersey’s bill to legalize cannabis is a historic step toward racial equity | Opinion
Updated Dec 17, 2020;
Posted Dec 17, 2020
This moment’s historical significance cannot be understated, said the Rev. Dr. Charles Franklin Boyer, the founding director of Salvation and Social Justice. As we launch this historic new cannabis market, our commitment is to ensure that New Jersey finally delivers overdue reparations and social repair.
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By Charles Franklin Boyer
Cannabis legalization started in the dark. Just days after New Jerseyans voted overwhelmingly to legalize cannabis and to roll back our state’s decades-old War on Drugs, state lawmakers tried to force quick passage of a cannabis bill without seeking input from those of us who have been most impacted by over-policing: Black and Latinx communities and New Jersey’s inner cities. For too long, our brothers and sisters have suffered at the hands of racist policies that criminalized Black and L