Join us for a critical examination of cannabis legalization's trajectory in the United States and abroad, from grassroots movement to corporatized industry. This Community Forum explores the tensions between decriminalization, consumer and worker safety, and the realities of cannabis within traditional capitalist structures: How has free-market ideology subverted legalization efforts, particularly through moments like federal rescheduling? What's the difference between legalization and regulation, and can we undo decades of propaganda-driven overtaxation and overregulation? As consolidation reshapes the industry, what models of organized resistance exist, and what can we learn from workers, drug war survivors, and community advocates building alternatives? Critically, what lessons does cannabis hold for emerging psychedelic markets and broader drug decriminalization efforts facing a re-branded global drug war? Speakers include Dr. Paulo J. R. Pereira, Associate Professor of International Relations at PUC-SP and author of Cannabis Global Co.: Cracked Consensus; Dr. Amanda Reiman, founder of Personal Plants and harm reduction researcher; Dr. Robert Chlala, Assistant Professor of Urban Sociology and Policy at CSU Long Beach, who co-led California's first statewide cannabis worker equity study; and Chelsea Chism-Vargas, cultural practitioner, community organizer, and Development & Operations Intern at the Chacruna Institute. Together, we'll examine how to center justice, equity, and solidarity in drug policy reform.

Cannabis & Capitalism: Is Justice Possible in Legalization?