The Disproportionate Impacts of Marijuana Public Policy on Communities of Color

The main objective of this art piece is to portray the differing levels of consequence based on the legality of marijuana in different US states. I attempted to display the different aspects of how people are affected by public policy and how it is implemented surrounding marijuana. In the center of the piece, there is a gold balancing scale with equal amounts of marijuana with varying images in the background to depict the kinds of consequences one may face if found in possession of that amount of marijuana.

The left portion of the piece attempts to portray the effects of being caught in possession of marijuana in the US states where it is entirely illegal and criminalized. As I found in my research, communities of color are disproportionately affected by the enforcement of public policy surrounding marijuana. This included the over-policing of communities of color, the over-representation of people of color in prisons for marijuana charges, and the degradation of communities of color. I used a darker color palette and various shades of black and brown in the background of the left portion of this piece to reflect the racialized manner in which public policy surrounding marijuana is enforced.

The right portion of the piece portrays the various life paths one can take when marijuana is decriminalized and legalized. Without the over-policing of communities of color or overrepresentation of people of color in prisons, this could lead to better outcomes for their communities as a whole through higher education and accumulating generational wealth. The legalization of marijuana and other recreational drugs is a significant and necessary step to creating more equity between lower-income communities and communities of color.