Social Equity: The African-American Influence on Cannabis Culture

The African-American cannabis story is one that's sprinkled with prejudice and misunderstanding. It's a tale of more tragedies than triumphs, intertwined with African-American history and institutionalized racism.

A Little Bit of Weed History

After Mexican immigrants introduced the custom of smoking weed in the 1920s. Jazz musicians widely embraced it to boost their creativity. And help them forget about the troubles of being Black at a time where it practically an offense to be dark-skinned.

Predictably, racist notions grew around the use of cannabis, leading to its prohibition in the 1930s. Cannabis, which was stereotypically tied to the African-American musical culture of jazz, was capriciously connected with crime, deviance, insanity, and other negative outcomes. This led to the 1937 Marijuana Tax Act, which made it illegal under federal law to possess or transfer marijuana throughout the US.

However, as white musicians and celebrities began to integrate with their counterparts of color, they too adopted weed and helped its popularity grow mainstream in the 40s, 50s, and 60s. Those in favor of the herb noted how, contrary to popular opinion, it could help foster societal peace and happiness.

• War On Drugs

Then, in 1971, President Nixon began the heavily bigoted "War on Drugs" that sealed the deal, so to speak, criminalizing cannabis and mainly targeting users of color. But it was around the same time that the modern cannabis culture began to grow and flourish underground with the rise of gangsta rap in the 80s.

With the growth of hip-hop grew an acceptance for the inspiration offered by marijuana. The genre has played the most pivotal part in revolutionizing the public perception, acceptance, and consumption of weed. The 90s and early 2000s saw artists like Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg, Notorious B.I.G., 50 Cent, Ice Cube, and Jay-Z dedicate lines, songs, and whole albums to rapping about their interactions with and love for weed. And later on, Lil Wayne, Wiz Khalifa, Curren$y, Ty Dolla $ign, Redman, Method Man, and a host of others joined in the culture of marijuana-fueled music with stoner rap.

Today, thanks to the key role played by African-Americans in integrating marijuana with popular culture, the societal view of cannabis is shifting again, and the stigma is fading out. According to Gallup, about 58% of Americans currently support the decriminalization of weed, and the number is growing every day.

African-American Cannabis Trailblazers

The impact of African-American celebrity endorsement of weed cannot overstated as we witness the dawn of a new era of cannabis acceptance and widespread legalization. Here's a look at some of the most prominent African-American pioneers, entrepreneurs, and trailblazers in the use, promotion, and monetization of cannabis.

• Snoop Dogg

Snoop is one of the biggest cultural figures in the marijuana space – a chronic user, we might say. Can we really talk about cannabis culture without mentioning Calvin "Snoop Dogg" Broadus? And the hip-hop legend is also one of the biggest beneficiaries of cannabis.

Besides enjoying the heightened creativity offered by weed for decades, Snoop co-founded Casa Verde Capital in 2015, a multi-million dollar firm aimed at investing in ancillary businesses with no direct contact with the plant, including health and wellness, ag-tech, media, laboratory technology, financial services, and compliance companies.

Throughout his almost three-decade-long career, Snoop has unabashedly promoted weed use and built an empire on his advocacy for marijuana. As a rapper, producer, actor, philanthropist, and entrepreneur, Snoop continues to use his far-reaching influence and strong relationship with his fans to spread the love of weed around the world.

• CJ Wallace

Late hip-hop legend Notorious B.I.G. (a.k.a. Biggie Smalls), as well as his family, was a big believer in the usefulness of cannabis for his creativity and stress-relief. So says his son, CJ Wallace, now founder of a company that curates cannabis products. The company also strives for criminal justice reform and the decriminalization of cannabis. Wallace recalls how his dad was convicted for cannabis possession before he passed.

Think BIG promotes the safe use of marijuana by developing new products, research, stories, and charitable projects to advocate the plant's usefulness in improving health, wellness, and self-expression.

• Al Harrington

In 2011, foresighted former NBA star, Al Harrington, made his way into the cannabis space at a time. when it wasn't popular to invest in marijuana, founding Viola, a medical marijuana dispensary named after his grandmother. After watching her benefit from the therapeutic effects of cannabis while treating glaucoma. Harrington determined to change the weed narrative and let people know the ample benefits of the plant.

Harrington continues to use his opportunity to overturn the odds, get African-Americans. And other people of color involved in the legal cannabis industry, and impact the communities most affected by the persecution of drug laws. And he encourages other athletes and celebrities to do the same.

• Fab 5 Freddy

Hip-hop pioneer Fab 5 Freddy directed and released his debut film, a Netflix documentary titled Grass is Greener, in 2019. The film unravels the controversies associated with cannabis and discusses its influence on music and pop culture. Grass is Greener also delves into discriminatory policies and the impacts of the criminalization of cannabis on Black. And Brown communities in the US.

Featuring interviews with Snoop Dogg, Doug E. Fresh, Damian Marley, Killer Mike, Chuck D, and the members of Cypress Hill. The film centers on the major role that cannabis played and still plays in Black music.

• Wiz Khalifa

With an exclusive custom strain to his name (Khalifa Kush), Wiz Khalifa would be next in line should Snoop ever. Decide to pass on the "rap stoner king" torch. But there's no doubt that Khalifa has an ever-burning torch of his own. Blunt about his love for blunts, rapping about weed in about 70% of all his songs. Wiz Khalifa's promotion of cannabis culture is pretty effortless. In his words, "I'm not sober, ever. I wake up and get high."

• Hope Wiseman

In 2017, Hope Wiseman became the youngest African-American owner of a legal cannabis dispensary. And one of the few women in the industry at 25. Her business, Mary and Main, is a medical marijuana dispensary in Prince George's County, Maryland. The former star of E! 's WAGS Atlanta advises African-Americans to hop on the train and invest in cannabis as the industry continues to grow.

• Mike Tyson

Former heavyweight champ, Mike Tyson, is one of those benefitting from Nevada's cannabis industry. (That was worth over $500 million in just 2018). Tyson started Tyson Ranch – a 40-acre marijuana resort – back in 2019 to produce high-grade THC . And CBD strains, partnering with Planet 13  a prominent Las Vegas dispensary, for the exclusive sale of cannabis products from the ranch.

The Struggle Continues

With the rich African-American legacy of cannabis and the massive role of Black people in its promotion, it's quite ironic that only about 1% of the storefront marijuana dispensaries in the US are Black-owned.

The "war on drugs" has disproportionately targeted African-Americans for decades. Black people roughly four times more likely to be arrested for weed possession than whites. Although usage is essentially equal across the board. And now, as the war on cannabis declines, the disproportionality continues with regulatory costs. And state laws that keep Black people out of the industry's boom.

It's tough for African-Americans to get into the legal weed business for several reasons. For one, it costs a fortune to begin a legal cannabis venture. And years of systemic racism and discrimination make it almost impossible for the average Black entrepreneur to raise that kind of capital. Bank loans are not accessible either, as the federal government still deems marijuana illegal.

Then there's the struggle after you finally succeed in setting up. You're shadowed by suspicion from law enforcement and the stigma of criminality as a Black person selling weed. While white people in the same business get off simply tagged as goofs. Or hippies at worst while benefitting from an industry. Whose acceptability is traceable to the influence of African-Americans.

The cannabis industry should be the perfect opportunity to help the African-American demographic recover from the effects of the drug-related prejudices that its communities have suffered for years. It's only fair that they get a good share of the potluck, to say the least. And until this happens, we must not relent in our campaigns for easier access of African-Americans into the legal marijuana space.