By 2028, the legal cannabis industry is expected to hit $58 billion in worldwide sales, thanks to a wave of legalization.1 But as weed enjoys a rebrand, those whose lives have been devastated by the War on Drugs, or who paved the way for this fledgling industry, are not able to reap the benefits.
Uruguay was the first country to legalize cannabis in 2013, and several others including Canada and Thailand have followed suit. In the US, 24 states have legalized recreational use, starting with Colorado and Washington in 2012.2 There has also been a shift on an international level, with the UN Commission for Narcotic Drugs relaxing cannabis’s classification under the recommendation of the World Health Organization.3
