ICE raid at cannabis farm a reminder that the war on drugs isn't over

To the editor: As someone who was formerly incarcerated for 10 years over a nonviolent, first-time cannabis offense, I see the recent immigration raid on a legal California cannabis farm as a stark reminder that the war on drugs is far from over (“ICE raid at major pot operation clouds picture for legal cannabis in California,” July 26). While corporations profit from the sale of state-sanctioned cannabis, the workers who make that industry possible — many of them immigrants — are criminalized, detained and potentially deported. These are the people who plant, prune and harvest the cannabis sold in dispensaries across California. Without their labor, there is no product or profit. Yet while executives cash in, workers are hauled off in handcuffs. That contradiction exposes a deep injustice. We cannot continue to call this a “legal” industry while handcuffing the very workers who sustain it. True justice means protecting cannabis workers, ending the use of cannabis offenses as grounds for detention or deportation and releasing those still incarcerated for marijuana. President Trump has voiced support for cannabis reform. His administration must ensure enforcement policies don’t target the very people propping up the industry. Stephanie Shepard, Sacramento This writer is director of advocacy for the cannabis reform nonprofit Last Prisoner Project.