Black people in Sacramento County were 4.1 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than white people in 2018.
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Nationwide, Black people were 3.6 times more likely than white people to be arrested for marijuana possession in 2018, despite similar usage rates, according to a 2020 American Civil Liberty Union report.
At the same time, the U.S. cannabis industry was and still is exploding with only 10% of cannabis business owners identifying as Latino or African American.
So not only are people of color more likely to get in trouble for having weed, those criminal convictions could mean they are being shut out of a $61 billion industry.
While overall marijuana arrests have decreased at the national level since 2010, cannabis arrests make up 43% of all drug arrests — which is more than any other drug — and the majority of the arrests are for possession, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.
According to the report, police often target people based on their perceived race rather than reasonable suspicion of criminal activity. As a result, people of color and particularly young people of color, often face implications of minor offenses like marijuana possession.
And while California is among the states with the lowest racial disparities — partly because it’s a decriminalized state — Sacramento ranks one of the highest counties for racial disparities in marijuana arrests.
Black people in Sacramento County were 4.1 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than white people in 2018.
And this is all while California accounts for almost a third of annual U.S. retail cannabis sales with minority owners having a significant impact on the overall percentage within the industry, according to MJ Biz Daily, a cannabis business information network.
So with Christmas time usually seeing a 15% to 20% week-over-week growth and the festive holiday generating $427 million in cannabis sales last year, according to the Green Market Report — there’s money to be made.
With that being said, here are five Black-owned California-based canna-businesses to help start your holiday gift search.
Oakland Extracts offer edibles, badders and sugar and diamonds.
Established in 2011 by NBA veteran Al Harrington, Viola’s Brands is experienced in growing premium flowers, extracts and strains.
SF Roots is a cannabis brand born in San Francisco dedicated to preserving the quality standards and culture of the industry. The Black-owned business offers whole flowers, pre-rolls, concentrates and tinctures.
Ball family Farms flowers are hand-crafted from raw and organic nutrients produced in-house.
With a mission to bring awareness to the BIPOC community within the cannabis industry, Put Color Back into Cannabis offers marijuana-inspired merchandise including pins, t-shirts and tote bags.
Brianna Taylor covers affordability on The Sacramento Bee’s service journalism desk as well as general news. Before joining The Bee in 2021, she reported in Missouri and Maryland. She grew up on the East Coast and is a graduate of Morgan State University.
