By: Stef Chen-Welch
BlkCannaJoy has addressed a huge need of the low-income West Oakland black community that depends on cannabis for medicine. Since Prop 64 passed, there was a two year gap where legally there was no logical way to distribute cannabis for free to anyone with a medicinal cannabis recommendation. Prior to the passing of Prop 64, you had to obtain a medical recommendation to buy cannabis. Products sold under medical marijuana laws of Prop 215 were far less strict than Prop 64, and under Prop 215 cannabis could be given away for free to any and all via compassion programs. METRC didn’t exist so weed could be given away much more freely, and people who couldn’t afford it could find access to it for free.
Wait, free weed?
Yup, free weed!
So what happened when Prop 64 passed? The avenue to disperse free weed hit a roadblock because cannabis given away as compassion wasn’t protected under Prop 64. Prop 64 omittance of compassion was an oversight, to say the least, and along with Prop 64 came immense taxes, and higher taxes deters growth, so this was an offense to anyone - patient, equity or legacy brand - who was already barely getting by. Then on top of high taxes, giving away compassion cannabis could not yet be tax exempt. Compassion programs were the root that stemmed Prop 215, and Prop 215 established the California culture of cannabis being a medicinal plant, in a legal sense. The work of many incredible advocates that lobbied California State Senator Scott Weiner to amend Prop 64 made it possible for compassion programs to operate starting March 1, 2020.
We as a society need more compassion in the world. Cannabis, to me, is like the gifted child everyone is banking on to help find the cure for greed, corporate corruption, systemic racism, classism, sexism, and oppression of all kinds. Okay, I guess I am projecting too much onto the plant, so I will settle for it being a beacon of hope in this transitioning society we are in. BlkCannaJoy is an olive branch, or a big kola of hope, extending out and connecting people to their humanity through compassion.
The passing of Prop 64 created the need for the re-establishment of compassion programs. Although Prop 64 had support mainly for how it would decriminalize cannabis, and tear at the seams of systemic racism and oppression from the war on drugs, access to cannabis became oppressive. High taxes, access to marketplace, access to capital, and access to medicine - all of these barriers were heightened after Prop 64. While Prop 64 released incarcerated individuals and expunged records, the low-income black community still needed access to free medicinal cannabis. Some local compassion programs exist already: Operation EVAC helps veterans, Sweetleaf Collective helps patients with terminal illnesses, Munchie Movement helps the local homeless population, but there wasn’t a program for the black community. BlkCannaJoy was created to foster, uplift, and love the community, as a step to restoring it.
As much as this country has historically divided us into races and classes, the biggest impact we can make on society is to come together. One goal is to extend the outreach of BlkCannaJoy, to raise awareness about compassion, and to make this program where members of the black community can receive mentorship and access to opportunities, and access to creative outlets that have been historically denied due to systemic racism. When social restrictions lift, each give away of compassion cannabis will be in a setting that also provides a platform for performing arts. So stay tuned, and give them a follow on their social media platforms!
On November 7th of last year, Dave Chapelle was on Saturday Night Live and during his monologue he proposed that people should start to enact random acts of kindness for black people because of how much hate the black community has endured and suffered for no other reason than the color of their skin. If people can randomly be racist, then they should randomly experience kindness as a step towards reparations. What Chapelle says gets to my heart and mind unlike any other comedian, and he said that random acts of kindness for black people was just a start to heal the wounds of such an oppressive and violent history. It would be a start to the long list of necessary changes, but being kind opens doors to opportunities. BlkCannaJoy is a door to kindness.
BlkCannaJoy is a compassion program, a community program, and communal space for all who love and have passion to change the world. Community involvement and helping heal the wounds of systemic injustice and oppression, and providing a venue for self expression, is at the heart of BlkCannaJoy.
By donating to BlkCannaJoy you are donating to acts of kindness for black people. Any black resident with a medicinal cannabis recommendation can contact BlkCannaJoy. Per their plan, BlkCannaJoy will also have scholarships to sponsor the cost of the medicinal cannabis recommendation itself. By removing barriers to accessibility, BlkCannaJoy is healing the community. Since the criminalization of drugs terrorized and traumatized generations of the black community, programs like BlkCannaJoy are setting the stage for a society with a foundation of equity and restorative justice, by first setting the example here in Oakland, California.
Thank you to all the compassion program administrators and advocates, and the cultivators, retailers, distributors, manufacturers and producers of cannabis that have been donated to compassion. Thank you for keeping the spirit of compassion alive.