The following op-ed was authored by Wellington Webb and ran in the Denver Post in November.
Almost a decade ago, our state officially recognized the failures of a prohibition against cannabis. By legalizing the recreational use of marijuana, Colorado became a national leader in the fight for criminal justice reform and against the over-incarceration of Black and Brown citizens. Since then, we’ve made long strides toward building a more equitable state. Recent proposals in Denver to outlaw menthol cigarettes, however, threaten this pursuit.
Rather than local communities patch-working new laws, there should be one state law. Because let’s be real. If one community outlaws menthol cigarettes, buyers will just drive a few blocks to the next community to purchase them.
Now we say you can smoke weed but you can’t smoke menthol cigarettes. We are giving police a reason to stop every person smoking a cigarette to check if it’s menthol.
On its face, this provision seems race neutral. But menthol cigarettes, which fall under the broad umbrella of flavored tobacco, are used by mostly Black smokers. In fact, this group chooses menthols over other products 90 percent of the time. Any prohibition on menthols will, in effect, impact Black Coloradans. By singling out products they use most often, our lawmakers are opening the door to an ominous medley of discriminatory possibilities.
Personally, I have never smoked because of the adverse health effects. But not everyone falls into this demographic.
If this is approved, an underground market may develop to reconcile the demand for menthols with their sudden illegality. Eric Garner was murdered by police officers for selling loose cigarettes.
It is also unfair to local businesses if this new mandate gives them just two weeks to address their industry. This is too quick to decide on an issue of this magnitude.
Bans on illicit substances have created a sprawling prison-industrial complex that supports itself on the backs of minorities. Strict enforcement during the war on drugs has irreparably damaged our neighborhoods and torn apart families. Law enforcement hardly needs more reason to stop us from going about our lives. But that’s what a menthol ban could do.
There is a reason to mandate certain personal behaviors to protect the public, such as getting vaccinated for COVID. Then there are lawmakers who just go too far to outlaw junk food or menthol cigarettes.
Some freedoms of choice should exist, even if deemed unhealthy, especially when a new law is bound to create more harm than good.
Wellington Webb is the former Mayor of Denver, a role that he occupied from 1991 to 2003. In addition to being the first Black man to hold that title, Webb is the author of The Man, the Mayor and the Making of Modern Denver and frequently lectures on civic and racial justice issues.
