Black Lives Matter. George Floyd. Breonna Taylor. Ahmaud Arbery. And too many others have lost their lives to racist federal, state, and interpersonal violence.
We join all calls for justice and systemic changes, from the federal and state governments all the way down to the city, community, and interpersonal levels.
The War on Drugs is rooted in racism. Therefore when we legalize cannabis, we must also address the harms caused of the racist drug war. Cannabis corporations cannot profit while Black and Brown community members sit in jail for non-violent drug offenses. Cannabis consumers must demand accountability. Cannabis taxes must be reinvested in communities that have been most harmed by the racist War on Drugs.
As filmmakers documenting the cannabis movement since 2016, we have had the honor to interview Black and Latinx women calling for racial justice as the cornerstone for cannabis legalization.
We stand in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and center our ongoing film work in abolition feminism.
Articulated by Angela Y. Davis, abolition feminism envisions:
“A society based on radical freedom, mutual accountability, and passionate reciprocity. In this society, safety and security will not be premised on violence or the threat of violence. It will be based on a collective commitment to guaranteeing the survival and care of all people”.
“Abolition feminism, and its roots in grassroots anti-violence organizing by women, trans and gender nonconforming people of color, is particularly relevant in this moment of heightened attention on movements advocating abolition and resisting incarceration of our communities.”
— Excerpt from INCITE! and the Barnard Center for Research on Women
It will require deep, profound work by all of us within and outside the cannabis community.
We are committed to do the work and amplify the voices of the Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and LGBTQIA+ leaders who continue to demand justice for Black lives.
Sincerely,
Windy Borman
Director, “Mary Janes: The Women of Weed”
