Protests Launch to Disrupt Corporate Cannabis at SXSW 2019

Artwork by: Tree Femme Collective

Scoff at protests? Well, don’t. Even Harvard agrees that they’re a successful vehicle for demanding change, back in a 2011 study. Especially in getting the community “politically activated”, reads the report. And, with the rise of a select few quickly accruing all the political and financial power post cannabis legalization, folks in the equity and repair advocacy world would agree with the findings. 

Cannabis equity advocates joined criminal justice reform organizations today in announcing demonstrations to protest keynote speaker’s along with other acts of opposition to disrupt corporate cannabis at SXSW 2019. 

SXSW, best known for blending festivals and seminars that “celebrate the convergence of the interactive, film, and music industries” has added a “Cannabusiness Track” to the annual festivities set to takeover Austin, Texas this year. Social equity advocates are organized and prepared to seize this opportunity, too; highlighting that the conference is “taking place less than a mile from Travis County Jail, where people of color are still disproportionately incarcerated for cannabis possessions, [and] while multibillion-dollar conglomerates that are disproportionately controlled by white men” are thriving.

Former House Speaker John Boehner, a documented prohibitionist with a voting record in Congress (1991-2015) displaying that he’s consistently opposed criminal justice reform, civil rights, LGBTQIA+ protections, environmental protections, and public education, is scheduled to give the first keynote this Friday. Social equity advocates have little faith in the sincerity of Boehner’s previous claims that his “thinking on cannabis has evolved”, especially since he’s now on the board of one of the largest cannabis investment companies, Acreage Holdings, where he is personally capitalizing off the Legal US Cannabis Market.

Could SXSW’s decision in speakers be representative of a myopic vetting process and possible larger