The hustle never stops. Despite the Covid-19 pandemic real hustlers have risen to the occasion. Street vendors, social media scammers, drug deals, and credit card fraudsters are all of the tenacious cloth united by their common commitment to thrive.
The risk associated with engaging in illicit conduct often far outweigh the benefits. But hunger has a funny way of suppressing rational thought. Many black urban youths lacking economic opportunity are emboldened to take desperate unconscionable chances risking incarceration or even death. Regardless of the enterprise’s legal status business, is business and the sole purpose is to make money. And thank heaven that there are a wealth of legitimate entrepreneurial selections to chose from among so that entrepreneurial risk-takers can adequately confine their risk to being a simple matter of success or failure of the business venture.
Recently several states have passed legislation permitting possession of marijuana for medical and recreational use. Although the legalization of weed is a meaningful step toward legitimizing the sale and use of marijuana, it doesn’t go far enough.
Unfortunately, the barriers to entry into the marijuana business are vast. Black and Latino people who were disproportionately penalized during prohibition are now ineligible to obtain a license to sell marijuana.
However, there are opportunities with minimum requirements involving packing, and distribution although they aren’t as lucrative as the sale of the marijuana itself. Rap artist, turned business tycoon Jay-Z recently announced a starter fund specially designed to help blacks and other minorities benefit and capitalize from a rapidly growing industry. The shift in thinking has set a new path and ignites hope for economic prosperity. The legalization of marijuana, which many Americans freely indulged while in private, but shunned publicly is long overdue.
America is a capitalistic society when keeping with her foundational principles government’s role is confined, in part, to the facilitation of trade. It’s refreshing that many restrictive marijuana laws having racist motivations when passed are finally in the process of being repealed throughout the country.
The legalization of marijuana is a win-win. It benefits not only individual consumers but society as a collective freeing up limited financial resources. And now surplus funds are available to address worthy impactful social and economic issues.