Minnesota set to pay marijuana ‘reparations’ for select communities to ‘undo the harm’ of prohibition

Minnesota is reportedly set to pay out “reparations” to communities that have been disproportionately affected by marijuana laws.

The “reparations,” as some are calling it, will be paid out as per a “CanRenew” grant program stuck into a new marijuana law that made the drug illegal to use, possess, and grow in the state starting as of August 1st.

“Starting in fiscal year 2026, the program will award $15 million a year to eligible organizations in communities that have high concentrations of people who were convicted for a marijuana offense or had family members who were convicted,” the Star Tribune reported Wednesday.

“Communities with large veteran populations, high poverty rates or that have been determined to have ‘experienced a disproportionately large amount of cannabis enforcement’ will also be eligible for the funding, according to the law,” the Minneapolis-based paper noted.

Even state Sen. Lindsey Port, the Democrat sponsor of the bill, has described it as “a form of reparation.”

“Direct harm has been done to communities by prohibition and by the state, and it is our responsibility to undo that harm. This is really our first major investment in doing that, and it should have the same kind of lasting effects that, unfortunately, the war on drugs has had on communities of color,” she told the Tribune.

CanRenew grants will reportedly be funded by the 10 percent tax that state lawmakers have imposed on all future marijuana sales.

“The state’s Office of Cannabis Management — which is still being formed — will distribute the grants to community organizations such as schools, nonprofits, private businesses and local governments in hopes of spurring development and prosperity,” according to the Tribune.

But obtaining the grant will not be an easy feat, as interested organizations must propose a solution designed to “improve community-wide outcomes or experiences” regarding economic conditions, public health, crime, etc.

“When we look at what is the most effective way the state can invest or disinvest in people, it is by investments we choose to make in communities,” Port said.

Not everybody agrees.

“The initiative will pay a total of $15 million to communities with a high population of convicted drug dealers. State politicians are calling this a reparations to these communities. How bad has America gotten that we’re paying reparations to drug dealers?” one critic tweeted.

See more criticism below:

According to the Tribune, the CanRenew program is in fact one of “a number of initiatives in the new marijuana law that seek to repair past harms.”

“Minnesota will also automatically expunge misdemeanor marijuana cases from residents’ records, and set up a Cannabis Expungement Board to review felony cases. Additionally, Minnesotans who meet certain ‘social equity’ criteria will be given preference for cannabis business licenses,” the Tribune notes.

Port, for her part, believes the program will mainly affect black people.

“Port said she anticipates much of the CanRenew grant money will go to community organizations in the Twin Cities metro area, which has a higher population of people of color,” the Tribune notes.

“Black Americans have historically been arrested and charged with marijuana crimes at much higher rates than whites despite both groups using marijuana at similar rates, numerous studies have shown. In Minnesota, Black residents were more than four times as likely to be arrested for marijuana crimes as whites in 2022, according to state data,” according to the Tribune.

Vivek Saxena

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