Justice and Equity Fund: Cannabiz Gives Back

Goal amount: $10,000 for The Bail Project 

Conscious of the need to take responsibility for ending hundreds of years of racial injustice, and recognizing the many links between cannabis prohibition, direct repression of Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC), and institutionalized racism in this country, we're calling out to members of Vermont's cannabis community to contribute to meeting both immediate needs (getting people out of jail) and supporting radical, long term systemic change (advocacy and education).

As white business owners and members of the Cannabis community, it is important for us to recognize our privilege in being able to work legally with this plant, while it has both historically and currently been used to disproportionately villainize, arrest, and incarcerate people of color.

Only 4.2 percent of cannabis businesses are black-owned . Meanwhile, blacks are 400 percent more likely to be arrested for cannabis possession  , and in some places up to 8,500% more likely.

These numbers are not accidental, and if we are not actively working towards equity in our own industry, then we are part of the problem.

If you are a white person in any way profiting from the legal cannabis and hemp industry - whether as a CBD business, a cannabis dispensary, a retail shop, or an ancillary business  - we invite you to be a part of us reaching our minimum goal of $10,000 - to go directly to The Bail Project . Donations are tax-deductible.

White Vermonters, New Englanders and beyond who are not directly profiting, but are in any way benefitting from working with this plant without legal repercussion, are also more than welcome to contribute.

We acknowledge that fundraising for these organizations is a small piece of a large, complex, long-term process, and does not obviate the need for ongoing personal education, interpersonal dialogue, and dismantling inherently racist systems which bolster white economic, political, and cultural supremacy.

For more educational resources and opportunities for action, visit the Heady Vermont Anti-Racism Resources page.

About The Bail Project 

The Bail Project, Inc. is a non-profit organization designed to combat mass incarceration by disrupting the money bail system ‒ one person at a time.

"We believe that paying bail for someone in need is an act of resistance against a system that criminalizes race and poverty and an act of solidarity with local communities and movements for decarceration. Over the next five years, The Bail Project will open dozens of sites in high-need jurisdictions with the goal of paying bail for tens of thousands of low-income Americans, all while collecting stories and data that prove money bail is not necessary to ensure people return to court. We won’t stop until meaningful change is achieved and the presumption of innocence is no longer for sale."