As racial justice protests continue in the Bay Area and across the country, there are ongoing calls to reallocate law enforcement funding or defund the police.
One Northern California advocacy group says that state and local cannabis tax revenue specifically should be shifted towards community programs.
“We have a real opportunity here and a responsibility to do right with these funds,” said Flojaune Cofer, senior director of policy with Public Health Advocates.
Cofer points to studies showing ongoing racial disparities in cannabis arrests, and argues it demonstrates the need for restorative justice programs.
“We’d really like to see them spend them on the communities that were hardest hit by the war on drugs, and not bolstering the very entity that is responsible for the harm that was caused by the war on drugs, which is the police department,” she said.
Included in the group’s proposal is a plan for cannabis revenue to be spent helping black market growers enter the legal market.
“There often can be a skills gap in a way that you operate your business that’s very different,” said Cofer. “Those businesses that now could be legal need the support.”
The black market continues to outpace the legal cannabis market in California by a large margin. More operators joining the legal market would also increase tax revenue.