Killer Mike Says Government Should Give Weed Industry to Black People

The Cannabis Industry as Reparations. Thoughts?

The Friday before the grammys, Killer Mike was already in the spotlight for his comments on HBO’s Real Time With Bill Maher. Always an outspoken activist for both Black rights and cannabis, Killer Mike was not shy with his statements. He claimed that if Black folks had control over the U.S. cannabis industry, racial equity would be better. 

Maher says, “With Native Americans, we gave them the casino industry. What about, you know, supermarkets?”

“Could Black people have the marijuana industry?” Mike adds. “Give us marijuana. Multibillion-dollar industry. It’s still fresh, it’s still growing.”

These comments are not surprising given Killer Mike’s radical yet valid view that, while people of color largely contributed to the world of legal cannabis, they are still disproportionately being incarcerated while white people are getting rich and running million-dollar companies. 

In the past, he has spoken out against inequality for Black people, and he avidly supported Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign. He also hosted the Netflix show Trigger Warning with Killer Mike in 2019, a documentary series about issues facing Black people. He has also spoken about the Black community at rallies and protests. 

With this history of activism and speaking up for Black folks, it is no surprise that he is scrutinizing the cannabis industry today. As the recent years highlight, cannabis is becoming more and more normalized, with most U.S. states at least legalizing medical cannabis, and CBD and THC both taking a more front-and-center role in community discourse. And it’s certainly true that if more people of color were in positions of power in the industry, there would be more equity. 

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