After listening to the podcast for this week’s blog post, I thought that the example using marijuana use was really accurate. Today, there are so many examples of how drug use is perceived across different cultures. It’s very interesting that white people are able to start businesses selling marijuana, and are praised for building that business “from the ground up.” However, it’s concerning that individuals of color are still arrested and jailed for smoking or selling marijuana on a smaller scale, like in their neighborhoods. Even white celebrities, like Seth Rogen, get to comfortably share about their weed on social media, but if it were the other way around, it would be a problem.
America has an interesting perception of drugs. In my US Borderlands class that I took second semester of freshman year, we talked about the drug trade across the US-Mexico border, and the “war on drugs.” Although many in the US tried to pin the entire thing on Mexico, the only reason that Mexican drug lords invested in travel to the States was because there was a demand for drugs. It’s not that they simply wanted to spread their influence, but those in the US are as equal to blame for what some call the “drug epidemic” as those in other countries. The US continues to spread the blame to other countries, groups, and even individuals, but much of the so-called “problems” we have with the movement of illicit drugs begins in white communities. Of course, this isn’t to say that there aren’t black and brown communities investing in the trade, but that it is necessary to recognize that it isn’t solely their fault.
I completely agree with your points about the racism within the illegal drug conversation. Black and brown people are disproportionately strongly charged for drug offenses compared to white people, illustrating the corruption within the justice system. Additionally, I believe this also ties into biases and assumptions we hold on people, which lead to unequal sentences for people of different races.
Oh my gosh yes!! Seth Rogan’s weed company is low key problematic if you look at the societal context behind it!! I am a huge proponent of Marijuana justice, and there is actually a group of amazing black women who are working directly with the VA General Assembly to ensure that there is an equitable legalization. AKA, making permits proportionately available to different races, allowing dispensaries to be in certain neighborhoods, etc. This work is essential, and something that wasn’t done when CO legalized it back in 2014- and we’re still dealing with the consequences (POC people still in prison for weed charges, dispensaries only being located in marginalized communities, etc).
I took the same history class and kept thinking about the United States’ involvement with the drug trade along the border. I remember learning that the 18th Street and MS-13 gangs actually started in L.A. in response to pressure from Mexican and Black gangs, by central Americans fleeing the hostility of the Northern Triangle in which the U.S. was involved. To counter this, the U.S. then passed an act that allowed for the deportation of undocumented and legal immigrants who had committed violent and non-violent crimes — such as gang violence. Unsurprisingly, the U.S. is the reason for the formation and need for gangs in the first place.
I think that you make a great point about the drug trade across the US/Mexico border. If people in the United States did not create a demand for drugs, there would be no reason for drug cartels in Mexico to jump through so many hoops to get the drugs to America. Placing all of the blame on those on the other side of the border is dangerous, and incredibly misguided.
Completely agree with you. The United States likes to take a holier than thou stance on the so called “war on drugs” demonizing Mexico for being a drug haven full of crime and bad people- ignoring that the drug war is simple economics. The USA wants to consume illegal drugs (creating a demand) and Mexico has the capacity to fulfill that demand for the promise of money. The USA will never do it, but it would be nice if we could blame ourselves and our society for continuing to fuel Mexico’s drug trade through our own demand for illegal drugs. It is certain that through decriminalization we could start addressing our own problems with addiction, rather than fruitlessly pushing the blame to Mexico.