Is Legal Weed Really Legal?

With dispensaries starting to be so high tech, and so beautiful, such as Serra Cannabis, it is time that people can be released from Prison that were incarcerated for possession of marijuana. Many states are starting to join the trend of legalizing marijuana, and a handful of states already have legalized it, but with all these laws passing there are still so many people stuck in prison for being in possession, or selling weed before it was legalized. While I understand why they were originally prosecuted for possession of marijuana, I do not understand why they are still being punished when there are so many big corporation/ capitalist style marijuana companies now. Big names are thriving in the weed business and loving life making so much money off of this product, while the original people that got into the business are stuck behind bars. The other part of this that is so frustrating, is that people that are incarcerated for other crimes, such as rape, may only be sentenced for only 3 months like Brock Turner was, but god forbid a person in possession of weed gets let out early. Part of this has to do with race and privilege, the big marijuana corporations today are a majority of rich white men using marijuana for profit, and the majority of people stuck in prison for weed possession are people of color. This is another example of privilege and gentrification.

– Amelia Rustigan