To the editor: As somebody who was previously incarcerated for 10 years over a nonviolent, first-time hashish offense, I see the latest immigration raid on a authorized California hashish farm as a stark reminder that the struggle on medication is way from over (“ICE raid at major pot operation clouds picture for legal cannabis in California,” July 26). Whereas firms revenue from the sale of state-sanctioned hashish, the employees who make that business doable — lots of them immigrants — are criminalized, detained and doubtlessly deported.
These are the individuals who plant, prune and harvest the hashish offered in dispensaries throughout California. With out their labor, there is no such thing as a product or revenue. But whereas executives money in, staff are hauled off in handcuffs. That contradiction exposes a deep injustice.
We can not proceed to name this a “authorized” business whereas handcuffing the very staff who maintain it. True justice means defending hashish staff, ending using hashish offenses as grounds for detention or deportation and releasing these nonetheless incarcerated for marijuana.
President Trump has voiced assist for hashish reform. His administration should guarantee enforcement insurance policies don’t goal the very individuals propping up the business.
Stephanie Shepard, Sacramento
This author is director of advocacy for the hashish reform nonprofit Final Prisoner Challenge.
