Is the Cannabis Industry Racist? 

The U.S. cannabis industry will hopefully soon be legal, but will it be racist? Yes, according to some, because of the individual, institutional, and structural racism in everyday American society.

The theory of systemic racism is everywhere these days, but how accurate is it?

Let’s find some common ground with race theorists. Take the Greater Toronto Area, for example. These aren’t integrated societies but enclaves of various ethnic groups.

The “legacy” population of predominately European descent also exists in their own cultural vacuums. These people are defined as “white” despite the discriminatory overtones and its historical inaccuracy.

Regardless, a “white” person’s cultural enclave is the majority. Society’s structure and institutions are based on “white” traditions.

This failure to integrate into other cultures by upholding their own is considered a continuation of white supremacy. So says the theory.

In fact, Western institutions are what raised American and European standards of living.

Western cultural beliefs and practices contributed to the society we have today. Race theorists don’t understand the importance of Judeo-Christian Greco-Roman culture in maintaining our legal system, for example.

Because they are ignorant, they are insecure about their “white” ethnicity.

How the Market Fosters True Multiculturalism 

Is the cannabis industry racist? When racism predicates society, then yes. But what about the other side of the argument?

Judeo-Christian Greco-Roman cultural beliefs and practices emphasize the individual. They lead to private property rights and faith in an objective rule of law.

Multiculturalism is a reality in the market. In the free market, everyone is there to profit. Everyone understands the common language of money.

Yes, office politics can run down cultural lines. But thanks to the consequences of Judeo-Christian Greco-Roman beliefs, even ethnic minorities can rise to the top or start their own businesses.

Western culture may have begun in Europe, but it’s not dependent on skin colour. You don’t need specific “white” genes to understand free markets.

Money is a tool for building and using capital. It is a tool for facilitating exchange. But like every culture, the West has a problem with corruption. For over 150 years, banks have used money at the expense of everyone else.

This practice continues today. Back in 2010-11, everyone seemed to understand this. The banks were ripping us off. They still are.

But in 2011, it was “We are the 99%” united against Wall Street. This has since been replaced by race theory in the media, universities, and corporate human resource departments.

A formerly fringe theory now accepted as fact.

But if we take the same disparity data and run it through a libertarian lens, we have a different explanation.

Is one more correct than the other? Why? 

Is The Cannabis Industry Racist?

Consider, Heather Mac Donald, a Thomas W. Smith Fellow at the Manhattan Institute. She’s been studying criminal justice for decades. 

In an Op-Ed for The Wall Street Journal, she wrote,

“A solid body of evidence finds no structural bias in the criminal-justice system with regard to arrests, prosecution or sentencing. Crime and suspect behavior, not race, determine most police actions.”

“That share of black victims is less than what the black crime rate would predict since police shootings are a function of how often officers encounter armed and violent suspects.

“In 2018, the latest year for which such data have been published, African-Americans made up 53% of known homicide offenders in the U.S. and commit about 60% of robberies, though they are 13% of the population.

Racists have a meme that begins with “despite making up 13% of the population…” It is meant to suggest that black people are genetically inferior to other races and thus commit more crimes.

Race theorists are similar in their approach. When data supports racial disparities, they appeal to everything but genetics. Institutional and structural foundations are at fault.

Both groups suggest external forces outside the control of the individual are to blame.

We cannot faithfully answer “is the cannabis industry racist?” when defining terms in such a way. Yes, the cannabis industry is racist. But only because, according to the theory, racism predicates our society.

Defined in such a way, you find racism behind every issue like a conspiracy theorist finds the Illuminati.

When all you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.

Social Sciences are Not Real Science 

Before we can answer, “is the cannabis industry racist,” we must address the epistemology of systemic race theory. That is, how do they claim to know what they know?

It’s important to remember that the humanities are a different field of study than physics or mathematics. If all humans disappeared tomorrow, the laws of physics would continue to operate.

2+2 always equals 4, even if we’re not around to bear witness. 

The only actual social sciences are studies that use randomized control trials. But even then, we should remember that objects are concepts. 

The laws of physics will always apply despite the concepts we use. But chairs don’t exist. 

Framing racial disparities as a consequence of foundational racism is a conceptual framework. So is this theory discovering truths or confirming its bias? 

When its proponents see racism, others see economic consequences. 

For example, a race theorist sees minority applicants getting approved for mortgages only 72 percent of the time, compared to the 89 percent approval that “whites” receive.

The New York Times called this “overwhelming” evidence of systemic racism. They call it “redlining.” But consider what Thomas Sowell wrote. 

“In our personal lives, common sense leads us to avoid some neighborhoods. If you want to call that ‘redlining,’ so be it. But places where it is dangerous to go are often also places where it is dangerous to send your money. As for racial differences in mortgage loan application approval rates, that does not tell you much if you are comparing apples and oranges. Income, credit history and net worth are just some of the things that are very different from one group to another.”

There are multifaceted problems affecting the American black community.

Race theorists oversimplify the issue by basing everything around an unproven, dogmatic belief. That racism predicates our society, including the cannabis industry.

Is the U.S. Cannabis Industry Racist?

You can blame Joe Feagin for developing this theory. He argues that the U.S. was founded on racism since the Constitution protected slavery. Therefore, everything that’s come after, including the cannabis industry, is nested in racism.

However, Feagin doesn’t understand economics like many of these theorists. There are no solutions, only trade-offs. 

There’s a reason the U.S. Constitution doesn’t mention slavery.

In the late 18th century, the founders assumed slavery would die out for practical and philosophical reasons. While it existed elsewhere and still does to this day, the Judeo-Christian Greco-Roman worldview could no longer permit it.

The fact cotton made slavery viable into the 19th century is a scar on the American continent. One of many brought about by European colonization.

No one denies that. But where are we in 2022? Creating better values? Treating people as individuals?

Or as members of a group? Us versus them, white people versus people of colour.

As the late, great George Carlin said: “It’s all bullshit, and it’s bad for you.”

There are only two groups: those who earn their wealth and those who steal it. 

We are the 99%, and we have a common enemy.