What’s The Future of Legalized Marijuana in Buffalo…& Who Will Be Allowed to Sell It?
According to Spectrum News, Assemblywoman Crystal Peoples-Stokes hosted a Community Meeting on Saturday regarding the impact marijuana will have on the Community, which when you think about it, is a very interesting topic, especially when you consider who will be selling it.
One of the areas of concern Assemblywoman Peoples-Stokes addresses is relative to those who may want to open a business selling marijuana, as there is already one such dispensary that popped up...out of nowhere I might add, and opened last week. I know there must be a number of inmates sitting behind bars, with the majority probably being African-American, thinking to themselves, 'Wow, I could do that'. There's also a possibility that another inmate may be thinking, 'Been There...Done That'...but got arrested. Seems to me if you're starting a Professional Football Team, you'd round up the most practiced, successful, & knowledgeable players...players who are already a pro and have thge scars and paperwork (both green and legal) to prove it. This argument sounds familiar and not NEW so sorry the distraction.
Reportedly, more than 100 people came to the meeting on Saturday at Medaille College. This is some of what Assemblywoman Peoples-Stokes shared:
"Money is being made as a result of the business in other places. Not only do you have to protect the criminally incarcerated, protect the community that was negatively impacted, but you gotta create opportunities for people to also be in business. It can't be that 90 percent of the people incarcerated from cannabis is only five percent of the business. We have to prepare them for that."
According to Spectrum News, Ebele Ifedigbo, the co-founder of The Hood Incubator, a non-profit business in Oakland, CAs that wants fairness where it involves African-Americans wanting to sell marijuana legally, said this: "
"We know how our communities have been negatively impacted and now we're trying to figure out how to change the trajectory and get the opportunities we're looking for. So, that's why people want to make sure that the policies are conducive, they want to make sure the business licenses are accessible for them, and they want to make sure they actually understand the legislation and the compliance, so they can be successful with this opportunity."
Spectrum News also reported that Community activist India Walton also spoke, saying:
"The interesting thing is that in 1977, New York State actually decriminalized smaller amounts of marijuana — and by small amounts I mean 25 grams or less. But we're still seeing that 80 percent of marijuana arrests in Buffalo and Erie County are people of color. So, we're just asking for that practice to stop."
Here' an interview WGRZ's Joshua Robinson did Assemblywoman Crystal Peoples-Stokes regarding marijuana in Buffalo and in general.
WBLK will keep you updated on any more Community Meetings regarding the topic of marijuana becoming legal in Buffalo as IU believe there may be one even today, so please check back during the day on Monday.
More stories you might enjoy:
More From 93.7 WBLK
