Editor’s note: Wretched City upon a Hill is a 10-part series examining the clash between America’s cherished beliefs about its democracy and the jarring truth about how the system fails in practice. The ninth essay is about the drug problem in America.
“This is historic!”
As the bell rang for the New Year 2023, people swarmed the first legal dispensary for recreational marijuana in the East Village, Manhattan, near New York University. Long lines formed, and marijuana quickly sold out.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul said that “the first legal adult-use cannabis sales mark a historic milestone for New York’s cannabis industry.” Chris Alexander, executive director of the New York Office of Cannabis Management, showed off the first purchase of cannabis gummies, saying, “We do have a lot more work to do, a lot more stores to open.”
New York Attorney General Letitia James said that the legalization of recreational marijuana is a racial and criminal justice imperative. The New York State government plans to issue half of its recreational marijuana licenses to women and minority entrepreneurs, struggling farmers, disabled veterans, and victims of drug enforcement. In other words, marijuana has become a politically correct way to show support for the Black Lives Matter and women’s rights movements.
Legalizing marijuana has also been associated with philanthropy. The first legal dispensary for recreational marijuana is run by a…
