This coming weekend is 4/20, and all around the nation, people will toke up in celebration.
In California, where recreational marijuana has been legal for just over a year, there’s a strong push from advocates to see that marijuana dispensary ownership is rolled out in an equitable fashion. Along with this push is the effort to help people adversely impacted by the “War On Drugs” to not only get their records expunged, but have some sort of agency in this burgeoning industry.
That push for equity is where Nina Parks comes in.
As a San Francisco native, Nina grew up watching people close to her criminalized for their involvement with marijuana. After her brother was incarcerated for a weed-related charge, Nina got involved in the industry. Now, she’s the force behind Equity Sessions, a series of workshops that offers guidance on thriving in the legal marijuana sector to those historically disenfranchised from it.
For this week’s Rightnowish, I caught up with Nina right before one of her workshops—and, coincidentally, right before her birthday. It’s almost too perfect: Nina was born on 4/20.
