Just Cannabis

Last Prisoner Project

Just Cannabis is a new short-form podcast from Last Prisoner Project that explores the issue of cannabis criminal justice reform through a series of interviews with impacted individuals and advocates. Host Mikelina Belaineh considers the ways race, gender, and sexuality have informed the United States cannabis policies, and in doing so, empowers listeners to advocate for a more just and equitable approach to these issues. read less
Society & CultureSociety & Culture
Play Trailer
Just Cannabis Trailer
Feb 27 2023
Just Cannabis Trailer
Just Cannabis is a new short-form podcast from Last Prisoner Project that explores the issue of cannabis criminal justice reform through a series of interviews with impacted individuals and advocates. Host Mikelina Belaineh considers the ways race, gender, and sexuality have informed the United States cannabis policies, and in doing so, empowers listeners to advocate for a more just and equitable approach to these issues.

Episodes

A Mother’s Call to Action ft. Sandra Bowen
Apr 27 2023
A Mother’s Call to Action ft. Sandra Bowen
Host Mikelina Belaineh interviews Sandra Bowen, who was recently deported after serving a ten-year-long federal prison sentence for a cannabis conspiracy conviction. Sandra discusses her pre-trial and incarceration experiences and details the challenges she’s faced rebuilding her life in a country where she has no community ties or sense of home.
Through A Daughter’s Eyes ft. Richeda Sinclair
Apr 12 2023
Through A Daughter’s Eyes ft. Richeda Sinclair
Host Mikelina Belaineh interviews Richeda Sinclair, a law student, and poet whose father was sentenced to 22 years in federal prison for a nonviolent cannabis crime. Richeda explores the ripple effect cannabis incarceration has had on the lives of her family and community and details how she’s found healing through advocacy and art.
Womxyn & Cannabis Incarceration ft. Stephanie Shepard
Mar 30 2023
Womxyn & Cannabis Incarceration ft. Stephanie Shepard
Host Mikelina Belaineh interviews Stephanie Shepard, a cannabis justice advocate who spent nearly ten years in federal prison for a nonviolent, cannabis-related conviction. Stephanie details the unique experience of being a Black womxyn ensnared in the United States’s criminal punishment system and talks about the ways she’s using her story to advocate for the thousands of people still incarcerated for cannabis.
Data and Erasure ft. Sarah Gersten
Mar 16 2023
Data and Erasure ft. Sarah Gersten
Host Mikelina Belaineh interviews Sarah Gersten, the Executive Director of the Last Prisoner Project, who discusses her experiences as an attorney and advocate in the cannabis policy reform movement. They discuss the limitations of the United States criminal justice data and explore innovative ways to understand the true scope of cannabis-related incarceration in the U.S. and beyond.
Introduction: Intersectionality and the War on Cannabis
Mar 2 2023
Introduction: Intersectionality and the War on Cannabis
In the first episode of Just Cannabis, host Mikelina Belaineh juxtaposes the staggering growth of the United States' legal cannabis industry with the injustice of cannabis-based incarceration. Belaineh highlights the erasure of womxyn from the cannabis policy reform movement and makes the case for considering race, gender, and sexuality in future analysis of the issue.
Just Cannabis Trailer
Feb 27 2023
Just Cannabis Trailer
Just Cannabis is a new short-form podcast from Last Prisoner Project that explores the issue of cannabis criminal justice reform through a series of interviews with impacted individuals and advocates. Host Mikelina Belaineh considers the ways race, gender, and sexuality have informed the United States cannabis policies, and in doing so, empowers listeners to advocate for a more just and equitable approach to these issues.