I didn’t know how much I would enjoy this book but wow am I glad I read it! I enjoyed it so much I have to get a physical copy for myself. Informative, well written, and beautifully crafted!

Waiting to Inhale; Cannabis Legalization and the Fight for Racial Justice by Akwasi Owusu-Bempah; Tahira Rehmatullah was AMAZING AND TIMELY! WOW! I need everyone who explores or enjoys cannabis to read this book as soon as possible. This book is so important! I felt so lucky to get a copy for myself! I have shared on my goodreads, bookstagram, and booktok!

As an addiction specialist, I try my best to keep myself up to date with the newest publications dedicated to everything related to this field. That´s why I have chosen this title.

Both America and Canada have a problem with racism, among many other problems. We all know that. I´m sure we all agree that something should be done about it, yet it seems as if nobody has any sensible idea as to what to do exactly. The authors of this book have some ideas, and it wouldn´t that be so bad, if not for the fact, that this entire book IS RACIST AGAINST WHITE PEOPLE! Here´s how:

I totally am for legislating marijuana. There is plenty of evidence out there as to why this is a good idea, so there´s no point in discussing it any further. The authors agree and therefore this book is NOT ABOUT THE BENEFIT OF LEGISLATION. What is it about then? Well, at the very beginning of the book one of the authors (a Pakistani Muslim woman, living in the US) says openly and nonchalantly, that she wants to be a part of this new marijuana industry before white men will dominate it. And later on, in fact, throughout the entire book, we have plenty of sentences that aren´t very sympathetic towards white people.
This whole book tells the story of the history of the fight to make marijuana legal. It´s a long battle and still ongoing. Thing is, mixing the whole legal process with racism is not a good idea! What I mean is this: the war on drugs hit poor people the most, it shattered the lives of many needlessly, and mostly it affected ethnic minorities and people of color. The problem with one single arrest in both Canada and the US is that it´s a snowball. It will keep rolling down, becoming bigger and bigger and it will destroy everything on its path. Again, we all know that.
BUT what the authors are lobbying for is to make the marijuana business divided between people by default! They demand at least 51% of the business to be in hands of black people, another percentage in indigenous people, etc, etc. (by law). This is not a fight for social equality. You can´t make people equal while you deliberately limit someone else's access to something, or even exclude them. How can you talk about repairing social injustice while doing the exact opposite?
What they are proposing is racist itself!
Also, they want to redistribute the revenue from legal sales into the communities most harmed. Sounds great, but first of all this opens a huge spectrum of possibilities for corruption, secondly, it´s supposed to be a business, not a charity. There´s a difference! Talk to Jeff Bezos...
Inclusion in the business is the author's other point. Again, sounds great, BUT, again, how can you talk about inclusion and demand at the same time a legally sanctioned limit of white people in the business? This IS racist!
This is what is exactly wrong with America, in my opinion. When someone wants to do something and has skills and knowledge then this person has more chance of becoming successful. Race, skin color, and sexuality HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THAT! The ongoing race to the White House and other public offices shows exactly that! Why do you vote for a mayor someone just because this person is LGBT? or is of Salvadoran origin? or has violet skin with yellow straps? or refuses to wear white socks? or... or... ? WHAT SHOULD MATTER IS WHETHER OR NOT THIS PERSON IS FIT FOR THE JOB! Same with the marijuana business - let people run their businesses IF they want to! And the market will decide who stays and who goes, just like it always does.

This was a very insightful book that highlights the link between racism and the criminalization of drugs when it comes to the BIPOC community. It’s definitely a must read for people who are actually willing to listen or want to listen.

Thank you to the author and publisher for the advance reader copy.

I loved this book. I thought it was an incredibly interesting, unique approach to discussing the intersections of race and drug laws. It reminded me a lot of a drugs and society sociology class I took in college. The authors lays the perfect foundation for their argument that previous cannabis convictions need to be reevaluated. Definitely a book I'll recommend to my friends and a book I can see myself referencing in my work as a criminal justice researcher. Phenomenal job!

This is like nothing of read before. Honestly, we’re told about drugs, we know what they are, but it’s always so interesting taking a deep dive into the consumption of drugs and their r impact. This was super interesting to read!