New Yorkers with Marijuana Convictions Will Get First Retail Licenses

This isn’t a reward. This is a state making reparations to people whose lives they destroyed over draconian laws that shouldn’t have existed in the first place.

A slave escaping their master was once illegal.

It’s worth noting the value of reparations in this case - some people suffered the consequences of having a marijuana conviction on their record (oftentimes a certain type of people, disproportionately). Sometimes, the law is unjust, unnecessary, and a huge waste of time and money, and it’s ok for us to recognize that and repair it.

This isn’t a reward, this is compensation.