Today is 4/20, a day to joyously celebrate the consumption of marijuana and tasty snack foods. But it is also a good day to reflect on how the legal status of cannabis disproportionally penalizes communities of color, who frequently suffer higher arrest and incarceration rates than white communities. Ben & Jerry’s would like you to briefly remove the spoon from that pint of Half-Baked to help fight for weed justice.
The company released a video today reminding Ben & Jerry’s fans that even though 33 states have legalized marijuana, most of the people making money off that legalization are white. Meanwhile, according to the ACLU, black people are more 3.73 times more likely than white people to be arrested for marijuana possession:
Ben & Jerry’s is trying to get Congress to expunge prior marijuana convictions and offer pardons/amnesty to people charged with possession. In that vein, do continue to enjoy 4/20 if you’re partaking, but also take a gander at their new cannabis justice initiative. Hope everyone had a super ~chill~ week, and please save me some ice cream for when I’m done with my blog shift.