NAACP ILLINOIS STATE CONFERENCE

P.O. Box 20384, Springfield, IL 62708

www.illinoisnaacp.org

March 13, 2019

The Honorable Carl Heastie

Speaker, New York State Assembly
Legislative Office Building Room 932
Albany, New York 12248

The Honorable Andrea Stewart-Cousins

President and Majority Leader, NYS Senate
Legislative Office Building Room 907
Albany, New York 12248

Dear Speaker Heastie, Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins and Members of the NYS Legislature:

We write you today at a critical juncture in your ongoing debate about the legalization and
commercialization of marijuana in New York and because it is especially important for leaders of
communities of color to understand the depth of the impact particularly on those in lower-income and
minority communities.

We believe strongly that past and current practices of the tobacco, alcohol and marijuana industries prove
that these industries target, exploit and victimize communities of color. At a time when we are all working
to bring more opportunity and advancement to our communities, legalizing today’s high-potency marijuana
will work counter to those efforts.

The vast majority of legal pot businesses are owned by wealthy, white investors. Commercial marijuana is
NOT social justice. It’s about Big Tobacco, Pharma and Wall Street investors preying on people of color and
hooking them on a dangerous product for years to come. It’s about putting profits ahead of people.

Please don’t allow greed and manipulation to harm communities that already face so many other
challenges.

Legal weed won’t solve the issues of injustice we see on our streets. During the first two years of
legalization in Colorado, the number of Hispanic and Black young people arrested for marijuana-related
offenses rose 29 and 58 percent, respectively. Commercial pot shops – like liquor stores before them - are
now clustered in low-income and minority neighborhoods in legalized states like Colorado. One Denver
neighborhood now has one pot shop for every 47 residents.

Residents in Colorado with an income of $25,000 or less are twice as likely to use the drug and a shocking
28% of women in low-income areas have tested positive for marijuana. Studies have found that 63 percent
of Blacks work in a profession where drug testing occurs, compared to just 46 percent of white workers.
Commercial pot will likely lead to fewer jobs for people of color, not more.
Today’s high-THC content marijuana, including liquids, oils and edible forms pose significant mental and
physical health risks, especially for our young people. Every major medical association has affirmed that
marijuana is both addictive and harmful to the human brain. Studies are increasingly showing a
connection between persistent marijuana use and schizophrenia, depression, suicide, lower IQ, impaired
motor skills and a host of other issues. Youth use is on the rise in legalized states and those who use
marijuana are nearly 3X more likely to move on to other drugs including opioids.

We have stood steadfast in our opposition to commercial marijuana in Michigan and New Jersey, and we
urge you to do the same.

As leaders of the Black community it is imperative that we all look at the risks, the facts and experiences of
other states to prevent our communities from being victimized by commercial marijuana. Your course of
action will shape not only the future of young blacks and other racial minorities in your state, but
generations of all races throughout our country.

We hope you choose to lead on this issue as we have. More people in minority communities using drugs
isn’t a solution to anything.

Respectfully,

One Illinois – One NAACP!

Teresa Haley,
State President