As Juneteenth approaches, celebrations throughout the U.S. mild up with meals, music, reflection, and remembrance. Formally acknowledged as a federal vacation in 2021, Juneteenth marks the true finish of slavery in the US—June 19, 1865—when Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas to implement the Emancipation Proclamation. However in 2025, because the world continues to reckon with racial justice, a distinct sort of liberation is discovering its method into the dialog: hashish reform.
Hashish and Black liberation are extra related than many understand. From jazz musicians in Harlem to civil rights organizers in Oakland, hashish has lengthy existed on the margins of Black expression, therapeutic, and rebel. But, for many years, Black communities have been disproportionately criminalized for its use. Based on a 2020 ACLU report, Black individuals are 3.64 instances extra more likely to be arrested for hashish possession than white individuals, regardless of equal utilization charges.
This isn’t only a matter of regulation—it’s a matter of justice.
Juneteenth affords a robust alternative to look at the hashish business by a liberation lens. With legalization spreading throughout the U.S., hashish is now a multi-billion-dollar enterprise. However who’s profiting? Spoiler: it’s not the communities most impacted by the Struggle on Medication. Lower than 2% of hashish companies are Black-owned, in line with Leafly’s 2022 Jobs Report. Many previously incarcerated people—locked up for doing what’s now authorized—are locked out of the business on account of difficult licensing techniques and lingering stigma.
However that’s altering. Slowly.
Throughout the nation, Black entrepreneurs are reclaiming area within the hashish world—turning generational ache into entrepreneurial energy. Applications like The Fairness Commerce Community and Cannaclusive are working to make sure minority-owned manufacturers thrive on this new inexperienced financial system. Some states like Illinois and New York have handed social fairness provisions to prioritize licenses for people from impacted communities. It’s not good—but it surely’s progress.
Hashish additionally holds cultural weight inside the Black neighborhood past politics or enterprise. It’s tied to therapeutic. Spirituality. Music. Neighborhood. From soul periods the place blunts are handed like communion, to wellness circles embracing CBD for psychological well being—weed isn’t simply leisure. It’s restorative.
So this Juneteenth, the dialog round liberation ought to lengthen to plant medication. How can we heal from centuries of systemic hurt? How can we reimagine freedom—not simply because the absence of chains, however the presence of alternative, wellness, and self-determination?
That’s the place hashish is available in.
Let’s use Juneteenth not simply to honor the previous, however to plant seeds for the longer term—one that features reparative justice, inclusive economics, and unapologetic pleasure.
As we spark the grill and possibly even a joint, let’s keep in mind: true liberation contains the proper to reside free, to heal freely, and to thrive—on our personal phrases.
Sources:
ACLU Report: “A Tale of Two Countries: Racially Targeted Arrests in the Era of Marijuana Reform” (2020)
Leafly Jobs Report (2022)
Cannaclusive (https://cannaclusive.com)
The Fairness Commerce Community (https://www.equitytradenetwork.org)
The New York Instances: “Legal Marijuana Is Becoming a Real Industry. Black Americans Are Being Left Out.” (2021)
