From San Jose Inside:
Steve DeAngelo and the Last Prisoner Project have an ambitious goal: to free the estimated 40,000 people jailed in the U.S. for nonviolent marijuana offenses.
Every single one of them.
“This is something the cannabis industry can absolutely get done,” said DeAngelo, the co-founder of the project and chair emeritus of Harborside, which has a store in San Jose. “If we do it, we’ll be in a position where we can really walk tall and be unique among all industries that are really paying attention to social justice. A lot of companies are putting out art, ads, memes and statements on social media, and all these things are not bad developments. But they’re not enough if we really want to make real systemic change in this country. Cannabis justice is racial justice and vice versa.”
The marijuana industry is booming across the country, but amid this growth, there are serious concerns that those most affected by decades of marijuana criminalization are being left out. People are still sitting in jail cells—some for life—convicted of an activity that is no longer a crime. Meanwhile, thousands of others are getting wealthy today doing exactly the same thing that landed their predecessors behind bars. Continue reading >>>
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