Prisoners of Prohibition

While Corporations Profit those Convicted of Cannabis Offenses Still Suffer

The criminalization of cannabis has had a devastating impact on our communities. Those that have experienced incarceration for cannabis are not criminals, they are fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, friends and community members. Despite increasing legalization efforts, Americans continue to suffer the devastating consequences of the War on Drugs.

The State of Legal Cannabis

As corporations get rich off legal weed and legalization sweeps the nation, under medical and recreational initiatives, tens of thousands of individuals, if not hundreds, are still suffering, either in prison or on probation, under cannabis charges and convictions. The FBI reported that nearly half of all drug seizures in 2021 involved marijuana and while states like California, Colorado, and now New York have taken the lead with decriminalization and social equity efforts, cannabis remains illegal under federal regulations, remaining a Schedule 1 substance. It’s not the outright war on cannabis like it once was, but prohibition is still rearing its ugly head.

With organizations like the Last Prisoner Project fighting to free cannabis prisoners, protestors rallying in DC for people incarcerated on marijuana charges, politicians from both the left and the right demanding legalization, and advocacy organizations urging President Biden take action, the issue has never been more prominent in our nations collective conscious. Cannabis has gone mainstream and the War on Drugs seems like a footnote in history to most. But what about those directly affected by the issue? The ones in prison and on probation? What is life like for them as this narrative grips our nation and plays out in the daily news forums?