Oakland to Provide Reparations for Drug Felons

Earlier this week, Oakland’s City Council all decided to approve of a breakthrough new program where the people of Oakland who have been put away for marijuana within the last decade will get the chance to apply for legal cannabis permits. This is the first time any type of concept like this has been implementing in the United States. It is especially special because it comes after the climax of the drug war in America.

The Equity Permit Program was set up by Desley Brooks. Brooks is a council member who has announced that she would like to provide some sort of subsidies for people and neighborhoods that have been negatively impacted by the war on cannabis. Brooks stated in an interview that the equity permits were vital to help African-Americans as well as minorities, who make up about fifty-three percent of the population in Oakland.

“When we look at the eight dispensaries, we have one that is owned by an African-American,” she said. “One out of eight… everybody ought to have an opportunity to compete.”

There are many trends across the country where drug criminals are not allowed to take part in the legal marijuana industry. However, this program seeks to help those people, especially because African-Americans have not been allowed into the industry for a variety of reasons, one of which is that African-Americans are four times more likely to be arrested for cannabis offenses rather than Caucasian people.

At the same time, the police department in Oakland has received extreme criticism for treating drug crimes more severely than they do homicides. The result in about ten years of murder cases with evidence that does not get examined, while ninety-five percent of all drugs in criminal cases are examined in less than a day. This surely is odd considering that Oakland is not the safest city to be in. However, with the Equity Permit Program, hopefully, the eyes of law enforcement officials will open up more.