Reverend Charles Boyer Responds To State Legislature Introduction of Cannabis Legalization Bill

Reverend Charles Boyer Responds To State Legislature Introduction of Cannabis Legalization Bill

Boyer points to “serious concerns that have yet to be addressed”

TRENTON, NJ — Following today’s introduction of an amended cannabis legalization bill in the New Jersey state legislature, Reverend Dr. Charles F. Boyer, founding director of Salvation and Social Justice, released the following statement:

“Today’s amended cannabis legalization bill includes an extremely important step forward: a social equity excise tax that will fund financial reparations for communities of color devastated by the drug war. This provision represents a hard fought victory in the fight for racial justice in the state of New Jersey.

But there are serious concerns that have yet to be addressed. This bill still lacks firm, codified language that guarantees that funding from the excise tax is reliably allocated with real community input to the state’s impact zones. We cannot allow this funding to become subject to the political whims of the state legislature. 

It’s also critical that  the bill do more to ensure that Black entrepreneurs have an equitable opportunity to succeed in the new cannabis market. This legislation currently limits the number of cannabis licenses for just 28 businesses in the state. This is an absolutely unacceptable number that will prevent equitable pathways of entry into this market for our brothers and sisters, and limit the funding for reparations that can be raised through the social equity excise tax. 

Lawmakers in the legislature cannot move forward with any bill that perpetuates a status quo of racial oppression.”

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