Katie Kaufman Rogers
Assistant Professor, Sociologist, Critical Criminologist
Book Project
Funded by the National Science Foundation, my book project investigates gendered racial inequity in the U.S. cannabis industry by foregrounding the racially diverse experiences of women.​
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To uncover how race and gender shape women's opportunities and obstacles in this newly legal industry, I immersed myself in California's cannabis market for over a year, working retail in dispensaries, analyzing advertising and political campaigns, and interviewing 59 women workers, executives, and entrepreneurs.
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I show how cannabis businesses use race and gender to promote and legitimize a quasi-legal, socially stigmatized market. This creates structural and ideological barriers on the path to participating legally in this industry, which privilege white and class-privileged individuals in dynamically gendered ways.​
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This research calls for the development of new cannabis policy frameworks that prioritize redressing state violence and fostering social equity and transformative justice in a post-prohibition era. ​
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[Illustration by Curt Merlo.]