Workshop 1: Digital Study


Part 1: Workbook Links
https://mailchi.mp/265e0017be3b/equity-sessions-healing-from-the-war-on-drugs-digital-study-part-1?fbclid=IwAR0v_cHDAJ6AkYxdPd4RM0iheUUKDHe2YZv8v6Q9PbjAVJA9bF4n3v_AD58

Part 2: War on Drugs
The following are captivating videos that thoroughly explain the historical context of the war on drugs and the criminalization of cannabis and people of color.

1. This is a video and issue by the Drug Policy Alliance, featuring Jay z, titled A Brief History of the Drug War: From Prohibition to Gold Rush
Link: http://www.drugpolicy.org/issues/brief-history-drug-war


2. A short video tited “Why The War on Drugs Is a Huge Failure.”
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJUXLqNHCaI


3. A video titled “The Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906…” This is a short 2 min video with tons of information.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OunUG5Wx-cw&index=3&list=PLdtQ6XyHefTVtGGf76xXSwo4LGm3R8Y7P


4. A 5 minute, sarcastic, entertaining, quirky video titled “Adam Ruins Everything - The Sinister Reason Weed is Illegal”
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXPOw2unxy0&list=PLdtQ6XyHefTVtGGf76xXSwo4LGm3R8Y7P&index=2


Optional:
A Ted Talk titled “Why we need to end the War on Drugs” by Ethan Nadelmann and TEDGlobal 2014. It gives a global perspective and the link includes the transcript.
Link: https://www.ted.com/talks/ethan_nadelmann_why_we_need_to_end_the_war_on_drugs/transcript?language=en


Part 3: Structural Racism, Historical Trauma and Healing
The following are a collection of the various ways in which we can get approach some of the trauma that people of color have endured through drug enforcement and mass incarceration.

1. This is a free online curriculum titled “Historical Trauma and Cultural Healing” by the University of Minnesota Extension. It consists of 3 short 5 min youtube videos and discussion questions. The links to the videos are also below for your convenience.

Website description: “Genocide. Slavery. Forced relocation. Destruction of cultural practices.
These experiences, shared by communities, can result in cumulative emotional and psychological wounds that are carried across generations. Researchers and practitioners call this concept historical trauma. The effects of the traumas inflicted on groups of people because of their race, creed, and ethnicity linger on the souls of their descendants. As a result, many people in these same communities experience higher rates of mental and physical illness, substance abuse, and erosion in families and community structures. The persistent cycle of trauma destroys family and communities and threatens the vibrancy of entire cultures. Historical trauma is not just about what happened in the past. It's about what's still happening.”

Link: https://extension.umn.edu/mental-health/historical-trauma-and-cultural-healing

What is historical trauma?
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWmK314NVrs


How historical trauma is perpetuated today?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjJUQlodh0g


How connection to culture and community can heal the wounds?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1o7ls7JnxA


2. This is a video titled “Historical Trauma: Context and Effects.” This video is about the effects of historical trauma and structural racism in Minnesota, but the context it provides and solutions it proposes to apply nationwide.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bgw5_xl0Zqk


3. A Ted Talk titled “Let's get to the root of racial injustice” by Megan Ming Francis and TEDxRainier. Video Description: In this inspiring and powerful talk, Megan Francis traces the root causes of our current racial climate to their core causes, debunking common misconceptions and calling out "fix-all" cures to a complex social problem.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aCn72iXO9s


4. Michelle Alexander's Keynote Speech from the 2017 International Drug Policy Reform Conference. Skip to 17:18 min for some realness if you are short on time.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8yGRFNlYqM&index=5&list=PLdtQ6XyHefTVtGGf76xXSwo4LGm3R8Y7P


5. A video titled “Michelle Alexander: Locked Out of the American Dream.” A great conversation that explores some solutions.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=om2hx6Xm2JE&list=PLdtQ6XyHefTVtGGf76xXSwo4LGm3R8Y7P&index=8


Optional:
A Ted Talk titled “How culture connects to healing and recovery” by Fayth Parks and TEDxAugusta. Video Description: Conventional medicine minimizes cultural formulations as legitimate partners. However, there are connections between cultural practices and modern medicine. Passionate and insightful, psychologist Fayth Parks reveals how common elements in healing traditions connect a person to positive thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Dr. Parks shares her personal journey and, from her research, an age-old blueprint for healing and recovery.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9Tkb879dsY


Part 4: What Equitable Cannabis Policy Looks Like Today
This is a couple of 30 min videos that give excellent insight into what the conversation around healing and reinvestment is currently looking like in California and Massachusetts. We are all in the same fight together!

1. Marijuana & Equity Summit Community Reinvestment: A Conversation on Where Marijuana Tax Dollars go
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tk6oRILVAU0&index=10&t=0s&list=PLdtQ6XyHefTVtGGf76xXSwo4LGm3R8Y7P


2. June 26, 2018 Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission | Public Meeting
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UtXcnGKTY8&index=10&list=PLdtQ6XyHefTVtGGf76xXSwo4LGm3R8Y7P