New South Park Episode Highlights Inequity In Colorado Cannabis Industry

Episode two of the new South Park season, which aired on February 9, tears into the issue of racial inequity in the Colorado cannabis industry, reported Westword.
"The Big Fix" starts in Denver at the Colorado Convention Center during the 2022 Cannabis Cultivators Expo, where a panelist at an event called the "Changing Face of Hemp Farming" delivers an ultimatum to the largely white crowd

"We growers must face a harsh reality. Since the legalization of marijuana, communities of color — Black and Brown Coloradans, those most affected by the racist War on Drugs — have now been locked out of the wealth creation of the industry,” the panelist says.

“Luckily, the public is starting to understand this unfairness. And many people are now talking about boycotting cannabis growers who are only white-owned. We are seeing a healthy and dramatic spike in consumers who demand that their marijuana be grown by those who understand the fight for social equity. The bottom line is this: A completely white-owned weed business these days just isn't going to survive," concluded the character.

"Amendment 64 dealt with social exclusion and not social equity, which is inclusion," said John Bailey, the head of the Black Cannabis Equity Initiative, in reference to the bill that legalized cannabis in the state in late 2012.

"If you had past cannabis convictions, you could not participate for ten years," added Sarah Woodson, founder of Color of Cannabis. "The guy that used to sell you weed, he wasn’t able to do it anymore, legally."

According to Colorado’s Department of Revenues 2021 demographic information, only 16.9% percent of licensees are minority owners.

Image: South Park Studios.