Cannabis Prohibition: Race, Equality and Reform
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My name is Ryan Robinson Perinchief. I am a 23 year old Durham Law graduate from the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda. I chose to write on this topic because cannabis prohibition and the war on drugs generally has always been something which has affected my community and environment in a demonstrable way. What makes the subject particularly intriguing for me is that the modern legal regime surrounding cannabis prohibition has had racial associations and disproportionate effects throughout every stage in historical development - from its origins, through to enforcement, and now even as jurisdictions consider reform in the present-day.In light of current trends, I think most would agree today that cannabis legalisation - or at least decriminalisation - is inevitable. However, as some jurisdictions have begun to make a complete reversal from criminalisation toward the outright commercialisation of cannabis, the next debate will be on figuring out how the law should respond to the visibly disproportionate impacts of prohibition in light of the growth of multi-million dollar legal cannabis industries. Overall, the disproportionate effects of the prohibition of cannabis on black and minority communities will have a tangible presence throughout society for decades to come. This raises considerations as to the responsibility of the law to remediate the impact of historic legal regimes which have been subsequently deemed unjust or intentionally harmful in the present day.
-Ryan Robinson Perinchief, Author
Introduction
The original intent for the war on cannabis is heavily linked to racial prejudice and discrimination. The consequences of these tainted origins of drug laws can be traced through its impacts on particular racial groups – specifically black and ethnic minorities – including through targeted enforcement and policies, leading to more arrests for drug offences and, subsequently, disproportionate criminalisation and social exclusion. These practices have been used to justify a repeating cycle of discrimination; institutionalised racism and systemic inequality upheld by the law. This present situation is contrary to egalitarian principles and theories of justice – often regarded as the ‘first virtue of social institutions’ – of which the political state and its prevailing systems, laws and regulations, and the administration of law and order are included. Specifically, Elizabeth Anderson’s ‘Democratic Equality’ theory seeks to eradicate oppression and establish a society in which individuals stand in relations of equality to each other.
Accordingly, this dissertation contends that the current regime of cannabis prohibition does not justify its disproportionate and negative effects, which are contrary to democratic equality. Furthermore, in consideration of shifting attitudes in global cannabis policy and emerging trends towards legalisation and commercialisation, an equality-based approach must be adopted to remedy injustices directly inflicted by prohibition and restore full enjoyment of democratic equality.
Chapter I will examine the intrinsic connection between prohibition and racial discrimination by outlining how the historical justifications for cannabis laws in the US and subsequently, the UK and various jurisdictions were not founded on any scientific analyses; rather, where discussions on cannabis did occur, they centred mostly around racial prejudice and rhetoric linking cannabis to criminality. It will also bring to light how these flawed justifications spread globally through international drug policy, culminating in disproportionate enforcement, criminalisation and incarceration, social exclusion and inequality on a widespread scale.
Having provided the underlying background on the history and impact of prohibition, Chapter II will undergo an analysis of Anderson’s democratic equality theory to demonstrate its incompatibility with the status quo, thereby demanding a new equality-based approach that will not only prevent further criminalisation, but mitigate the inequality imposed by the principally flawed, outdated and unjust present regime.
Finally, Chapter III will examine potential approaches to cannabis reform using democratic equality theory. Consideration will be given to decriminalisation, legalisation, and affirmative action, including the expungement of criminal records, to demonstrate the applicability of democratic equality as an appropriate response to the devastating impacts of cannabis prohibition.
