Concerns raised as pot shops asked to help fund Black community
Joel Moreno | KOMO News 9/1/2020
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/concerns-raised-as-pot-shops-asked-to-help-fund-black-community/ar-BB18v249
One of the groups leading the defund police movement also wants cannabis stores throughout King County to help pay for projects in the Black community.
The fundraising drive is pitched as a way to begin to address the harm minorities suffered during the war on drugs. However, some pot shop owners said it feels like a shakedown.
When asked how many shops have signed on, spokesperson Isaac Joy would only say that volunteers are doing lots of outreach and many owners are expressing a desire to move the industry forward. On its website, King County Equity Now also says it will promote any stores that participate.
Joy said he didn’t have time to answer other questions, but a local activist familiar with the group said the concept is simple.
“All of this goes back to repairing the specific damage that has been done due to the war on drugs,” said Cliff Cawthon, an adjunct professor of political science and a radio host on RainierAvenueRadio.
Cawthon said people of color suffered during marijuana prohibition and were disproportionately jailed and imprisoned for drug-related crimes. He said they should now share in the profits of the legal weed business.
“I would ask all of business owners, knowing about the impact of the war on drugs on communities of color, how are you spending those profits in order to significantly advance the cause for Black lives,” Cawthon said.
However, King County Equity Now wouldn't offer any specifics on its business plan with KOMO News.
Ian Eisenberg, owner of the Uncle Ike’s chain, said that lack of transparency is a concern.
“From what I've seen, there's no accountability whatsoever,” Eisenberg said.
Uncle Ike’s locations have been repeatedly targeted during this summer of protests. Stores have been set on fire, windows have been smashed, and now there is a call to boycott the business.
“The idea of extorting me? We're going to boycott you if you don't give us 30 percent of your net? In the pot world, 30 percent of net means I'm out of business," Eisenberg said.
Joy said King County Equity Now will work with owners on how the money is spent. He pointed to the newly formed relationship with the Bakeréé pot shop as an example of this collaboration.
KOMO News reached out to the owner of Bakeréé but did not hear back.
Eisenberg said he regularly contributes to charities and just donated $30,000 to the Northwest Bail Fund. He said he won’t be contributing to King County Equity Now under the model the group currently has set up.
“If there's a plan to elevate everybody in the community or some kind of community ownership, that sounds like a good plan," Eisenberg said.
Cawthon said a just economy is one that works for everyone, and with so much momentum finally behind the racial justice movement, cannabis retailers should rethink their business model and what they do with their profits.
“Maybe it's time for them to ask themselves, ‘What side of history am I sitting on,’" Cawthon said.
Data provided by the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board shows that not a single marijuana retail store in Seattle is owned by a Black person. Statewide, Black owners account for 3 percent of retail stores.