Look, I’m all for legalized marijuana, but reparations? My goodness.
Starting the fiscal year 2026, Minnesota will give $15 million to those who have been harmed by marijuana prohibition through the “CanRenew” grant program.
The “CanRenew” grant program tucked in Minnesota’s expansive new recreational marijuana law was largely overlooked during discussions at the State Capitol earlier this year. Starting in fiscal year 2026, the program will award $15 million a year to eligible organizations in communities that have high concentrations of people who were convicted for a marijuana offense or had family members who were convicted.Communities with large veteran populations, high poverty rates or that have been determined to have “experienced a disproportionately large amount of cannabis enforcement” will also be eligible for the funding, according to the law.
Port claimed the money would come from marijuana sales. Minnesota has a 10% tax on those sales.
“This is a form of reparation,” declared Port. “Direct harm has been done to communities by prohibition and by the state, and it is our responsibility to undo that harm. This is really our first major investment in doing that, and it should have the same kind of lasting effects that, unfortunately, the war on drugs has had on communities of color.”
Reparations all the things!!
Port isn’t lying. The stupid war on drugs has affected minority communities more.
Then again, the drug business is really the only form of capitalism they can engage in because the government likes to keep them on welfare and dependent on Daddy Government. But that’s another story!
But if politicians paid attention, which likely won’t happen, they would know it’s not marijuana at the heart of the drug war.
The people on the streets aren’t smoking weed. They smoke weed if they cannot get what they really want: heroin, meth, or cocaine.
Watch The Wire. It is the most realistic show I’ve watched and also my favorite. (Also watch Homicide: Life on the Street. It’s not streaming anywhere, but you can find clips online…or just buy the DVDs. You won’t regret it.)
The Office of Cannabis Management will determine which community organizations will receive money from the grant. These include schools, nonprofits, private businesses, and local governments.
So I guess no money straight to the people? I guess not:
Organizations applying for the grants must propose a project or program designed to “improve community-wide outcomes or experiences,” including efforts to boost economic development, public health, violence prevention, youth development or civil legal aid, the law states.”When we look at what is the most effective way the state can invest or disinvest in people, it is by investments we choose to make in communities,” Port said.
The government will “automatically expunge misdemeanor marijuana cases from residents’ records” and review felony cases with the Cannabis Expungement Board.
The government will also give preference to those who meet “social equity” criteria to receive a cannabis business license.
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