Pot ‘legalization 2.0’: Social equity becomes a key question

NEW YORK — Advocates for legalizing marijuana have long argued it would strike a blow for social justice after a decadeslong drug war that disproportionately targeted minority and poor communities.

But social equity has been both a sticking point and selling point this year in New York and New Jersey, among other states weighing whether to join the 10 that allow recreational use of pot. Complicating the lawmaking process, sometimes even among supporters, are questions about how best to erase marijuana convictions and ensure that people who were arrested for pot benefit from legal marijuana markets.

Advocates say legalization elsewhere hasn’t done enough to achieve those goals. Critics maintain legal pot is even accelerating inequality as the drug becomes big business for companies generally run by white men.

“We’re at the stage of marijuana reform 2.0,” said Douglas Berman, an Ohio State University law professor who follows marijuana policy. The conversation, he said, has shifted from just being about legalization to, “which track should we make sure we head down?”