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According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), marijuana related arrests in NJ skyrocketed from 2000 to 2013. In 2000 the number of marijuana related arrests were 19,607; that number jumped to 24,067 in 2013.1  Over the last ten years, NJ has spent over a billion dollars to crack down on marijuana users in particular. These aren’t top level drug dealers either; 90% of those arrested are just recreational users or undiagnosed cannabis patients.1 It may come as no surprise that Black New Jersey natives were 3 TIMES LIKELIER to be arrested than their white counterparts for crimes such as possession and/or intent to distribute. According to the report, someone in New Jersey is arrested for possession every 22 minutes.1...

TheAmazingBlackWoman had the pleasure of attending Afropunk 2017 in Brooklyn this year, and it was absolutely…well…amazing! Aside from the beautiful people and wonderful music, was an overwhelming spirit of inclusion and diversity that is characteristic of New York City--but in this instance, uniquely lead by Black people.   Many Black people are fiscally democratic, but the majority of us are socially conservative. Afropunk is a delightfully progressive movement that is diverse in nature, creative, but black lead. Independent artists, musicians, DJ’s, and vendors were everywhere as beautiful, strange individuals lined the streets and concert fields dancing freely being their queer, black selves. The people were truly the most beautiful thing featured at Afropunk. There were so many talented artists, and...