大约十年前，琳达·格林(Linda Greene)在和她的一些朋友吃饭时，听说大麻在华盛顿特区已经被合法化用于医疗用途。经历了20世纪60年代的反文化，她看到了一个机会。
格林在2019年开设了Anacostia Organics。推开了药材大麻在格林看到该地区卫生部颁发的15个原始耕种者和药房执照中，没有一个授予美国首都的居民，只有两个授予有色人种后，药房开始营业。
Anacostia Organics成为Anacostia河以东的第一家医用大麻药房，位于贫困地区，也是该市大多数注册购买医用大麻的患者的家园。格林的目标是提升她所在药房所在的社区，她说这种药物被误解了。
“这不是一个石头行业，”她告诉美国广播公司新闻。“这是错误的想法。...这是治愈的行业。”
格林是32万名在大麻行业工作的美国人之一。这种药物已在17个州和华盛顿特区合法化用于娱乐用途，2020年的销售额为175亿美元。
然而，尽管大麻收入在全国范围内持续增长，但这种药物仍然是联邦政府禁止的附表1管制药物，与海洛因、摇头丸和迷幻药属于同一类别。
不过，这种情况可能会改变。根据皮尤研究中心上个月的一项调查，91%的受访美国人认为大麻应该合法化。在这些参与者中，60%的人说娱乐和医疗都应该合法化。只有8%的人说它不应该合法用于任何成人用途。
这项调查是在立法者加大推动力度，在联邦一级将这种药物非刑罪化，并为那些因某些大麻犯罪而被监禁的人提供恢复性司法的情况下进行的。众议院最近通过了2019年的《安全银行法》，这将使大麻公司更容易在合法销售大麻的州经营。
在4月20日的新闻发布会上，白宫新闻秘书珍·普萨基(Jen Psaki)表示，乔·拜登总统支持“大麻使用合法化，并自动删除任何以前的犯罪记录”。4月20日被广泛认为是大麻使用者的非官方节日。他也支持药用大麻合法化。”
但是，尽管拜登的立场可能达不到完全的娱乐合法化，科罗拉多州大麻协调前主任安德鲁·弗里德曼(Andrew Freedman)表示，现在可能是使这种药物合法化的最佳机会之一。
弗里德曼被广泛认为是科罗拉多州的大麻沙皇。他率先提出了该州娱乐用大麻合法化的框架——这在全国尚属首次。自2014年以来，该行业已积累了100亿美元的销售额和超过4亿美元的税收，部分用于资助该州与学校相关的项目。
他说，该州已经有合法的大麻足够长的时间了，现在它甚至不再是禁忌。
“如果你现在去科罗拉多，并且谈论大麻，这是世界上最正常的事情，”他说。“它就在酒精旁边。它就在丹佛野马队旁边，只是一个可以谈论的话题。”
弗里德曼曾就如何制定大麻法规向其他州政府提供建议，现在是大麻政策、教育和法规联盟的执行主任。该智囊团代表了包括大型烟草、大型啤酒和安全公司在内的利益相关者。
弗里德曼说，随着更多的州将其合法化，该智库的目标是关注大麻合法化的“方式”，而不是“如果”。
他说:“我们的战略实际上是停止关注合法化是否应该向前发展，认识到合法化已经向前发展。”“对几乎一半的美国人来说，这是一个现实。”
上个月，弗吉尼亚成为最新一个将娱乐用大麻合法化的州之一。尽管它是南方第一个这样做的州，但人们需要三年时间才能合法销售这种药物。州长拉尔夫·诺森(Ralph Northam)最近推动州立法机构加快简单持有合法化的时间表，以限制与大麻有关的逮捕。
根据美国公民自由联盟，美国黑人因持有大麻被捕的可能性是美国白人的近四倍，尽管吸食率相似。
谢尼塔·彭尼(Shanita Penny)在近十年前被指控持有枪支。她说，她认为自己遇到的法律是一个种族偏见的例子，这种偏见经常出现在对吸食大麻的少数民族进行监管时。
“这是个人恩怨。我在弗吉尼亚的[95号州际公路]上因持有大麻而被拦下并逮捕，”她告诉美国广播公司新闻。“在弗吉尼亚出生和长大，我没想到会这样。”
佩妮在被指控持有毒品后，支付了近3500美元来删除她的记录。她说她相信这只是因为她能够得到律师的帮助。她说，这是一个艰难的过程，即使是“对于一个有合理资源的人来说”。
“但对于不是这样的人来说，这是最糟糕的改变游戏规则的方式，”她说。
彭妮在创建大麻咨询公司萌芽解决方案之前，曾在几家财富500强公司担任顾问。她说，她认为运用她在合规和业务发展方面的技能不仅有助于大麻企业的繁荣，还将平衡少数民族的正义。
“它在我的领导下点燃了一把火，让合法化以这样一种方式发生，即那些对消费这种植物或成为这一行业的一部分不感兴趣的人将完全理解为什么合法化如此重要，以及公平的合法化如何影响你的生活，无论你是否触摸这种植物，”她说。
她说，将持有大麻合法化首先也是最重要的，因为如果合法化“真的会优先考虑种族平等和已经造成的伤害，那么我们需要尽快停止伤害。”
弗里德曼说，与科罗拉多州一样，其他州越来越多地将大麻销售收入视为追求种族平等和经济机会的资金来源。
“现在很多人都在谈论，你如何确保新经济带来的经济机遇能够惠及受禁毒战争伤害最大的社区?”他说。
伊利诺伊州埃文斯顿(Evanston)今年3月通过的一项决议将向受灾最严重的社区提供赔偿:大麻销售的一部分税收将在10年内纳入一项1000万美元的基金，以帮助面临历史上不公平住房做法的黑人居民支付房屋维修或首付。
在弗吉尼亚州，大麻合法化的法律包括所谓的大麻股权再投资基金，该基金将把30%的税收导向大麻相关犯罪泛滥的社区。
“我们对这里的商业市场抱有很大希望，尤其是在弗吉尼亚，”大麻正义组织的执行董事、活动家切尔西·希格斯·怀斯说。“但要真正做到这一点将是一项艰巨的任务，我们想说这是向前迈出的第一步。这是进步的一步。”
在华盛顿特区，格林说，她也觉得有必要将自己的劳动成果再投资到自己的社区。除了在自己的社区开设Anacostia Organics，她还雇佣了住在那里的人，并教他们该行业的内部运作，以便他们有一天也能建立起来。
Minorities fight for racial equity, legalization from within the marijuana industry
Nearly a decade ago, Linda Greene was having dinner with some of her friends when she heard that marijuana had been legalized for medicinal use in Washington, D.C. Having lived through the 1960s counterculture, she saw an opportunity.
Greene opened Anacostia Organics in 2019. The push to open the medicinalmarijuanadispensary began after Greene saw that of the 15 original cultivator and dispensary licenses issued by the district’s Department of Health, none had been awarded to residents of the U.S. capital, and only two had been awarded to people of color.
Anacostia Organics became the first medical marijuana dispensary east of the Anacostia River, located in a poverty-stricken area that was also home to the majority of the city’s patients registered to buy marijuana for medicinal purposes. Greene, who aims to uplift the community in which her dispensary is located, said the drug has been misunderstood.
“This is not a stoner industry,” she told ABC News. “It’s been misconceived. ... It’s the industry of healing.”
Greene is one of over 320,000 Americans who work in the cannabis industry. The drug, which has been legalized for recreational use in 17 states and Washington, D.C., accounted for $17.5 billion in sales in 2020.
Yet, even as revenues from cannabis continue to grow across the country, the drug remains a federally prohibited Schedule 1 controlled substance -- in the same category as heroin, ecstasy and LSD.
That may change, though. Ninety-one percent of Americans surveyed believed marijuana should be legalized, according to a Pew Research Center survey from last month. Of those participants, 60% said it should be legalized both recreationally and medicinally. Only 8% said it should not be legal for any adult use.
The survey was conducted amid a heightened push by lawmakers to decriminalize the drug at the federal level and provide restorative justice to those who’ve been incarcerated for certain marijuana offenses. The House recently passed the SAFE Banking Act of 2019, which would make it easier for cannabis companies to operate in states where sales of the drug are legal.
During a press briefing on April 20, widely considered to be an unofficial holiday for marijuana users, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that President Joe Biden supports “decriminalizing marijuana use and automatically expunging any prior criminal records. He also supports legalizing medicinal marijuana.”
But while Biden’s position may fall short of full recreational legalization, Andrew Freedman, the former director of cannabis coordination for the state of Colorado, said now may be one of the best chances to legalize the drug.
Freedman was widely known as Colorado’s cannabis czar. He spearheaded the state’s framework for recreational marijuana use legalization -- the first in the country. Since 2014, the industry has amassed $10 billion in sales and over $400 million in tax revenue that has been used in part to fund the state’s school-related projects.
He said the state has had legal marijuana for long enough now that it’s not even taboo anymore.
“If you go to Colorado right now, and you have conversations about cannabis, it’s the most normal thing in the world,” he said. “It stands right alongside alcohol. It stands right alongside the Denver Broncos as just a thing to have a conversation about.”
Freedman, who went on to advise other state governments about how to establish cannabis regulations, is now the executive director of the Coalition for Cannabis Policy, Education and Regulation. The think tank represents stakeholders including big tobacco, big beer and security companies, among others.
With more states legalizing it, Freedman said the think tank’s goal is to focus on the “hows” of marijuana legalization rather than the “ifs.”
“Our strategy is really to stop focusing on if legalization should go forward, recognizing that legalization has gone forward,” he said. “It’s a reality for almost half of America.”
Virginia became one of the latest states to legalize marijuana for recreational use last month. But while it’s the first state in the South to do so, it’ll take three years for people to be able to sell the drug legally. Gov. Ralph Northam recently pushed the state legislature to speed up the timeframe to legalize simple possession in an effort to limit marijuana-related arrests.
According to theAmerican Civil Liberties Union, Black Americans are nearly four times more likely than white Americans to be arrested for marijuana possession, despite similar rates of use.
Shanita Penny was charged with possession nearly a decade ago. She said she believes her encounter with the law is an example of the racial bias often seen in policing minorities who are caught with marijuana.
“It’s personal. I was on [Interstate 95] in Virginia when I was pulled over and arrested for cannabis possession,” she told ABC News. “Born and raised in Virginia, I didn’t think that would happen.”
Penny paid nearly $3,500 to expunge her record after being charged with possession. She said she believes it was only because she was able to get the help of an attorney. It was a difficult process, she said, even “for someone who’s reasonably resourced.”
“But for someone who’s not, this becomes a game-changer in the worst way,” she said.
Penny worked for several Fortune 500 companies as a consultant before founding cannabis consulting firm Budding Solutions. She said she thinks wielding her skills in compliance and business development will not only help cannabis businesses thrive but will also balance the scales of justice for minorities.
“It lit a fire under me to make legalization happen in a way that people who were not interested in consuming this plant or being part of this industry would fully understand why legalization is so important and how equitable legalization can impact your life, whether you’re touching this plant or not,” she said.
Decriminalizing marijuana possession first and foremost is important, she said, because if legalization is “truly going to prioritize racial equity and the harm that’s been done, then we needed to stop the harm as soon as possible.”
Like in Colorado, other states are increasingly seeing the revenue from their cannabis sales as a source of funding to pursue racial equity and economic opportunity, Freedman said.
“A lot of the conversation now is, how do you make sure that the economic opportunities available from a new economy are there for the communities most harmed by the war on drugs?” he said.
A resolution passed in Evanston, Illinois, in March would provide reparations to the communities hit the hardest: A portion of tax revenues from cannabis sales would go toward a $10 million fund over 10 years to help pay for home repairs or down payments for Black residents who’ve faced historically unfair housing practices.
In Virginia, the law to legalize cannabis includes the so-called Cannabis Equity Reinvestment Fund, which would direct 30% of tax revenue to communities that have been overpoliced for marijuana-related crimes.
“We have a lot of hopes on the commercial market here, particularly in Virginia,” said activist Chelsea Higgs Wise, executive director of the group Marijuana Justice. “But it is going to be a hard push to truly make that equitable, and we would like to really say that this is a first step forward. This is a progressive step forward.”
In Washington, D.C., Greene says she also feels compelled to reinvest the fruits of her labor into her community. Along with opening Anacostia Organics in her own neighborhood, she also employs people who live there and teaches them the inner workings of the industry so that they, too, can one day build up.
