Terry Gilbert Quoted in the Village Voice
“40 Grams and A Bong?” weighs in on cannabis social equity programs and civil rights
“Social equity initiatives can work if they’re comprehensive in scope and implemented with commitment. But if they’re not, they may fail to reverse historical trends.”
Terry Gilbert backs up that claim from Sarah Ratliff, reporting for The Village Voice. Gilbert recently spoke with Ratliff, using five decades of experience as a civil rights attorney working for social change, to comment on new marijuana regulations in New York state.
“We have seen in the minority construction contract bidding process that investors and white established companies use minorities to get contracts, but the minorities have no control over the operation,” he says. “This could be what happens with marijuana.” He also cautions activists to be sure they press for carefully designed social equity programs to avoid corporate domination. “The devil is in the details,” he proclaims.