The Chicago Sun Times reports that members of the Chicago City Council’s Black Caucus are threatening to slow walk the implementation of marijuana sales in the city due to the fact that no businesses slated to sell the substance once it is legal on January 1stare owned by people of color.
Dr. Kevin Sabet, president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) and its Illinois affiliate, SAM Illinois — which led the opposition to the passage of marijuana commercialization — released the following statement in response:
“We hate to say, ‘I told you so’, but once again we see legalization as being about one thing: profits. It is not about social justice. Upon passage of the bill, promoters of legalization declared Illinois would set the industry standard for social equity in the marijuana industry. Those remarks are only sad, empty promises now.
“In state after state that has chosen to expand upon this reckless experiment, grand promises of social justice and equity were made. And in state after state, we have seen these promises fail to materialize. In the end, the wealthy, white men such as Governor JB Pritzker and his family who are heavily invested in marijuana, will profit, while disadvantage communities foot the bill. Marijuana legalization is not social justice—it is social injustice.”