Politics

This Is What White Weed Privilege Looks Like

Published on March 14, 2019 · Last updated July 28, 2020
(New York Post)

When a friend sent me the photo of Malcolm Abbott, rapper, and son of accused college admissions cheats, earlier this morning, I assumed it was a bit from The Onion.

“Son defends parents caught in college admissions scandal while smoking blunt,” read the headline attached to a photo too well staged to be real. Check it out for yourself:

But no. It’s real. It’s in the New York Post:

Maybe this is why Gregory and Marcia Abbott allegedly bought their daughter’s way into college. Their ‘rapper’ son, Malcolm, popped out of the family’s Fifth Avenue building to smoke a giant blunt—while defending his parents and bragging about his latest CD.

‘They’re blowing this whole thing out of proportion,’ said Malcolm Abbott outside the home that overlooks the Metropolitan Museum of Art. ‘I believe everyone has a right to go to college, man.’

In between drags, Malcolm, whose father is the founder of food and beverage distributor International Dispensing Corp., admitted, ‘I didn’t go to college.’

Stroll Down Fifth Avenue, Smoking a Blunt

So much to unpack. Where to begin.

Since this is Leafly, we’ll focus on the fact that Malcolm Abbott felt perfectly at ease smoking a blunt on Fifth Avenue, across the street from the Met, as a photographer snapped away.

First: Let’s be clear. It should be every adult New Yorker’s right to enjoy cannabis legally. State legislators are trying to make that happen right now in Albany.

Second: You want to know what white weed privilege looks like? It looks like Malcolm Abbott, who knows he can blaze a fatty on Fifth Avenue and fear no arrest. Meanwhile, every person of color in New York city who hazards the same action faces a likelihood of arrest 10 times greater than Malcolm Abbott. Try getting into college as a young African-American man with that on your record.

Related
Legalization in New York? Maybe Not This Year, Governor Says

New York City Improves, But…

No doubt,  things overall are improving in New York City. Mayor Bill DiBlasio and the NYPD installed a new policy last year that resulted in a 97% drop in cannabis possession arrests. Prior to that, police regularly arrested people caught consuming cannabis in public—and used it as a pretext to stop-and-frisk whoever they wanted (but mostly non-white people). But as we’ve seen in other cities, total arrests drop but the racial disparities in those arrests tend to remain.

Shop highly rated dispensaries near you

Showing you dispensaries near
See all dispensaries

As Sara Brittany Somerset reported for Leafly last year, consumption rates for people of all races in New York are about the same. But 85% of the people arrested for cannabis offenses were people of color, who are ten times more likely to be arrested for marijuana than white people.

The Numbers Don’t Lie

This is not a perception issue. This is a data-proven issue. Thirty percent of New York City residents are white. White people represented only 9% of cannabis arrests in 2017. Here’s how Politico charted the problem last year:

The college admissions scandal is all about wealthy white people using their money and institutional privilege to game the system. Malcolm Abbott did us all a favor by demonstrating just how deep that privilege runs.

Shop highly rated dispensaries near you

Showing you dispensaries near
See all dispensaries
Bruce Barcott
Bruce Barcott
Leafly Senior Editor Bruce Barcott oversees news, investigations, and feature projects. He is a Guggenheim Fellow and author of Weed the People: The Future of Legal Marijuana in America.
View Bruce Barcott's articles
Get good reads, local deals, and strain spotlights delivered right to your inbox.

By providing us with your email address, you agree to Leafly's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.



Stay In Touch

Receive updates on new products, special offers, and industry news.

By providing us with your email address, you agree to Leafly's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

Leafly mobile app
Get high for less.
Download the Leafly app.
Download Leafly: Marijuana Reviews on the App Store
Download Leafly Marijuana Reviews on Google Play




* Statements made on this website have not been evaluated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Information provided by this website or this company is not a substitute for individual medical advice.


© 2024 Leafly, LLC
Leafly and the Leafly logo are registered trademarks of Leafly, LLC. All Rights Reserved.