To the editor: As somebody who was previously incarcerated for 10 years over a nonviolent, first-time hashish offense, I see the current immigration raid on a authorized California hashish farm as a stark reminder that the battle on medication is much from over (“ICE raid at main pot operation clouds image for authorized hashish in California,” July 26). Whereas companies revenue from the sale of state-sanctioned hashish, the employees who make that trade attainable — lots of them immigrants — are criminalized, detained and doubtlessly deported.
These are the individuals who plant, prune and harvest the hashish bought 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’t proceed to name this a “authorized” trade whereas handcuffing the very staff who maintain it. True justice means defending hashish staff, ending the usage of 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 trade.
Stephanie Shepard, Sacramento
This author is director of advocacy for the hashish reform nonprofit Final Prisoner Challenge.
