A Life sentence for Weed the Last Prisoner Project

Описание: She is Stephanie Shepard, a formerly convicted of conspiracy to distribute marijuana in 2010, and as a first-time nonviolent offender, received a sentence of 10 years in the Federal Bureau of Prisons. After serving nine years, she was then placed on federal probation for an additional five years, and she now serves as the Last Prisoner Project's director of advocacy and sits on the organization's board of directors. She is adamant about advocating for restorative justice for those suffering and who continue to suffer, as she has from the criminalization of cannabis.

Now, the Last Prisoner Project was founded in 2019 out of a belief that no one should still be incarcerated or suffer collateral consequences of offenses that are now legal. Stephanie, it's a real pleasure to have you here. Thank you so much for being with us today.

Thank you for having me. Thank you. First of all, I just want to say this is a real story of taking a really bad situation and turning it into something very powerful from which the community is going to continue to benefit. Talk to us about your transition from being incarcerated to being now in a position of power at this organization that's advocating on behalf of people who, like yourself, were suffering from the criminalization of cannabis in this country.

Yeah, I really didn't have a choice. I really didn't have a choice when I got out. I was now a felon. I was facing new obstacles, new challenges of getting housing and getting employment with this title. But at the same time that I'm facing these obstacles, I'm seeing this new industry that's appeared, you know, and that's grown. And I'm happy it's grown, but consider someone who's just getting out of prison after nine years, but I'm seeing billboards and I'm seeing, you know, dispensaries. And I had no choice. It ignited something in me. My blood was boiling just seeing this, but knowing that where I had just come from and where so many thousands of people still sit today.

You know, I have often wondered what it must be like to have had to serve time for cannabis and now see people making billions of dollars. Like, to me, it would drive me insane. I cannot imagine the levels of frustration. And considering the fact that this organization was founded in 2019, that is an indication that this is still a problem. We have people who are still serving time, incarcerated for things that people, many of them in the same state are now making buku dollars and business plans off of.

Can you talk to us about what the conversation is like within the community of folks who have experienced incarceration? What is the conversation like within those spaces when you see the contradiction between jail or financial profit and riches, depending on whether or not you have the complexion for the protection, or if you have the insight and the contacts that are going to allow you to be able to navigate the criminality or the potential for criminality as opposed to the potential for financial gain?

It's very difficult. And the conversations are the same as what I had with myself when I got out. We have so many great advocates who we've helped get out who are now using their voices, having that same fire in them that I had. It's interesting. There's certain circles, certain conferences where when a deal is made, you know, they hit a gong. And the first time I went to a conference that did that, I just kept hearing this dong, dong, and I was like, what is that? And through walking through the conference, I saw what it was. And every time a deal is made, somebody rings that gong and everyone cheers. And that was quite triggering for me, just getting out and seeing that. And knowing just how much more work we have to do in this space.

I did not think it was going to—we are five years, almost six years into this fight as an organization. And that's really not a long time when you think about how long it took for thesituation to get out of hand like it is to the tune of 40,000 people being incarcerated for the very same plant that I could have delivered to my front door right now because there's a dispensary across the street. So having that as a motivator, I try not to get bitter about it because it's a wonderful industry and there is space in it for everyone. But as a motivator, I see the industry as it is and growing and loving seeing my black and brown women getting involved. And just everyone can have a space. And that's a motivator for me. So I never down the industry.

FIND OUR PRODUCTS HERE: https://drdamas.com/shop/

#StephanieShepard #LastPrisonerProject #CannabisJustice #RestorativeJustice #DecriminalizeCannabis #CriminalJusticeReform #MassIncarceration #EndCannabisSentences #EquityInCannabis #Expungement #FormerlyIncarcerated #SocialJustice #BlackAndBrownVoices #CannabisAdvocacy #LegalizationEquity #AdvocacyLeadership #ReformTheSystem #EraceTheHate #DrDamasShop