Black History Month – How Cannabis Can Bring More Equality to West Virginia
States that legalize medical marijuana offer cannabis as an alternative treatment option for any number of qualifying conditions. By legalizing medical marijuana, states like West Virginia make examples by encouraging the healthy use of cannabis as a plant, rather than vilifying and penalizing its consumers.
But while patients with qualifying conditions can receive a medical marijuana certification in West Virginia that legally allows them to possess cannabis, the same people who do not have a certification can incur hefty fines and serious jail time for use of the plant.
In this article, we’ll look at how cannabis can encourage more equality in West Virginia, fairer laws, and how medical marijuana can help point legislators in the right directions for a better future for everyone in West Virginia.
Cannabis & Equality
Laws that Discriminate do Severe Harm to Communities
Cannabis laws throughout the country show that there is a disproportionate amount of criminalization for black people and minorities, despite similar usage rates among all people.
Unfair and unjustifiable criminalization can lead to life-altering problems such as having a permanent criminal record, being exposed to prison, being subjected to unaffordable fines, and criminalizing one of the most used plants puts everyone at increased risk to state or federal criminal offenses.
But data suggests that while those risks are present for all communities, certain communities are subjected to realized criminalization far more.
West Virginia remains one of the worst places for this phenomena, where black people are over 7 times more likely to be arrested for cannabis possession than white people, despite similar usage.
Why Cannabis is Often at the Center of Equality
Cannabis has a unique place in the conversation of equality because it is universally used across a wide spectrum of many different consumers, but often it’s minority communities that are most heavily affected by criminalization.
From medical patients to recreational enthusiasts, cannabis knows no racial borders and it’s enjoyed by a diverse group of people, but the people who pay the ultimate price for having cannabis illegally are a much smaller group of specific people.
Because cannabis criminalization is so heavily pursued in the United States, it’s a critical component in how communities are disproportionately affected by misdemeanors, felonies, and prison sentences.
How Cannabis Can Create More Equality in West Virginia
Ending Marijuana Criminalization Means a Fairer Playing Ground
By a landslide, over 90% of Americans believe that cannabis should be legal in some capacity.
And at the same time, over half of all drug arrests in 2010 were for marijuana, with over 7 million people being criminalized for having cannabis, and police officers made a cannabis related bust every 37 seconds.
Compared to the numbers that state black people are nearly 4 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than white people in the country, it doesn’t quite add up to a fair outcome by any stretch of the imagination.
Ending the criminalization of cannabis can impact the bottom line of equality in West Virginia significantly, and offers the opportunity to fix how discriminatory laws have affected countless lives and communities.
Opening the Door to Economic Success for Disadvantaged Communities Through Cannabis
Many states that legalize cannabis look to offer programs for communities that have been significantly impacted by the war on drugs.
Whether through education, financing, business, or access, many states choose to have cannabis programs that are designed to uplift the communities that have been most affected by cannabis criminalization to restore balance to the system that once inflicted measurable damage to neighborhoods and local communities.
Alongside these kinds of programs are things like record expungement and legal lookbacks. A critical component for states that legalize cannabis is how they use their funding to reorganize the state’s prior stance on cannabis, and expunging records is an important tool for that.
Opening the doors to legal cannabis for certain people while holding convictions and jail sentences tight to the chest for other people not only looks bad, but it’s unethical and irresponsible.
West Virginia has a big opportunity to help right many wrongs and could easily provide a more equitable and fairer future for its citizens, communities, and people, by serving the community rather than penalizing it, and cannabis is a perfect place to start.
Get Your Medical Marijuana Certification in West Virginia
Medical marijuana is available for patients who have been diagnosed with a qualifying condition and have received a medical marijuana certification. A medical marijuana certification gives you legal access to possess a 30-day supply of cannabis in West Virginia without any legal ramifications.
Take the steps to schedule your medical marijuana evaluation appointment today and get access to legal marijuana products available at dispensaries!
Being a West Virginia medical marijuana patient allows you the freedom to take your medication the right way for you. We’re dedicated to helping patients every step of the way! Feel free to give us a call at 877-303-8424 and we can answer your questions about getting a medical marijuana card in West Virginia.
Doctors Who Care.
Relief You Can Trust.
West Virginia Marijuana Card’s mission is to help everyone achieve
wellness safely and conveniently through increased access to medical marijuana.
Our focus on education, inclusion, and acceptance will reduce the stigma for
our patients by providing equal access to timely information and compassionate care.
If you have any questions, call us at 877-303-8424, or simply book a medical marijuana evaluation to start getting relief you can trust today!
Check outWest Virginia Marijuana Card’s Blog to keep up to date on the latest medical marijuana news, tips, and information and follow us onFacebook,Twitter, and Instagram to join the medical marijuana conversation in West Virginia.