Blacks more likely to be arrested for pot possession than whites, report says

Seeking to appeal to black voters to support marijuana legalization, the Drug Policy Alliance and the state NAACP are releasing a report Friday afternoon saying that blacks were arrested for misdemeanor marijuana possession at higher rates than whites in 25 California cities.

The report, which will be discussed at a news conference at the NAACP’s convention in Oakland, follows one released this summer finding a similar disparity in California’s 25 largest counties. Alice Huffman, the president of the state NAACP, steered the group toward an endorsement of Proposition 19 earlier this year, arguing that it is a civil rights issue.

The Proposition 19 campaign is targeting black voters with mailers and phone calls. Among those expected at the news conference are actor Danny Glover and Dr. Joycelyn Elders, a former U.S. surgeon general. In a preface to the report, Huffman calls the war on drugs "a war on people of color" and writes: "For decades, law enforcement strategies have targeted low-income people of color who bear the disproportionate burden and stigma of arrest, prosecution, and permanent criminal records for marijuana possession and other minor drug offenses."

The initiative would allow adults at least 21 years old to possess up to an ounce of marijuana, which is now a misdemeanor. Last year, California made 61,164 arrests for the crime.

Roger Salazar, a spokesman for No on 19, acknowledged there are disparaties, but pointed out that no one is incarcerated for misdemeanor marijuana possession, which is a $100 fine. He also noted that less than 1% of the inmates in state prisons are there for marijuana crimes.

"This has very little to do with Prop. 19," he said. "As we have seen with most recent polling, people of color are the ones moving against the initiative and against recreational legalization."

In Los Angeles, the report found that blacks are arrested at 7.1 times the rate of whites. Torrance had the highest disparity among the cities studied, with blacks 13.8 times as likely to be arrested. Pasadena had the second-highest rate at 12.5 times. The lowest rate was Compton, at 2.2 times. The researchers did not include California cities that had low arrest rates for marijuana possession.

The higher arrest rates for blacks in 2006 through 2008 come despite federal surveys showing they use marijuana at lower rates than whites. Because police departments focus on high-crime neighborhoods that are often black, marijuana arrests are racially biased, the report concludes.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed a bill that will make possession of up to an ounce an infraction, rather than a misdemeanor, which means it will no longer lead to a criminal record. Opponents of Proposition 19 argue that this makes the initiative unnecessary.

But Stephen Gutwillig, the Califorinia director of the Drug Policy Alliance, said infraction records will still appear in some databases that could be searched by landlords and employers. He also said police might write more tickets, knowing they will not lead to jury trials. "Potentially even more young African-Americans and Latinos are going to be stopped and detained," he said.

The Drug Policy Alliance and the William C. Velasquez Institute are planning to release a report on Tuesday that highlights arrests of Latinos for misdemeanor marijuana possession.

-- John Hoeffel

 

Comments

[link]

........." He also said police might write more tickets, knowing they will not lead to jury trials. "Potentially even more young African-Americans and Latinos are going to be stopped and detained," he said."

There's no pleasing that guy.

[common sense]

plain and simple it needs to be legalized, not only that,but also they need to clear peoples records of misdemeanor marijauna offenses, as long as they werent for sales...adults like to relax and impair themselves after a long week, so who is to say because someone chose a beer or glass of wine, instead of a bonghit, that it should impact the rest of his life,regarding work and or other rights we have....its insane...not to mention the drunk on sunday has more of a chance of not performing at work on monday, than the guy who smoked a joint and went to bed and woke up sober, not hungover!

[silly people]

These so called leaders simply have no clue, it would seem to me a reasonable consideration to add the potential risk of blatant access of predatory profiteers to an already vulnerable culture, which will without doubt become the overwhelming market of legalization.

It appears that some time between MLK, and today, black leaders have dropped the ball on fighting injustice and with it are willing to lower the bar of accepting the blatant economic, and social disregard for their community.

To even publicly condone legalizing marijuana, because more blacks are incarcerated for possession literally defies common sense, because of the potential impact on the black community as a whole.

It would seem more productive now with the first black president of the United States, to level the playing field across the board.

[Michael]

The NAACP would be out of business if blacks reached parity with whites in socioeconomic status (which I hope they do soon), so, of course, they want pot legalized. Studies have shown that marijuana users drop out of school at higher rates, fail to achieve life goals, and are more likely to make less than $30,000 per year, even when the data is corrected for socioeconomic background.

[Koniag Warrior]

While the initiative would make a lot of money for the state, as well as decrease prison costs, many people who smoke pot will vote against this bill because it will eliminate the small grower and drive down the price. This is suicide for the small grower who supplements his income and pays for his pot with a small operation.
If this initiative passes, large corporations will move in and efficiently begin to produce product and edge the small grower out. California will have the likes of Phillip Morris and such moving into California to capitalize on the new smoking craze.
While passing the bill would be good for the state, it will be bad for the guy who likes his weed.

[u know]

That's because they sell more, smoke more and have more pot than white people....HELLLLO!

[Charles J]

To see more about the anti-marijuana hypocrisy, read the Charles Blow article on the Opinion page of today's NY Times (Oct 23).
Msg. to u know, who evidently doesn't know: WHITES use more weed than blacks - Goodbyyyyeee!!

[Patricia]

u know, they don't smoke more or sell more or have more than white people.

Oh and about Roger Salazar saying that less than 1% of state prisoners are in their for marijuana crimes:

1. We have rehab instead of prison now for possession cases in our state. The rehab beds in this state are over-full with marijuana users being forced into treatment they neither want nor need. The taxpayers are paying for that, and the real hard core alcoholics and other drug addicts are being made to wait for rehab beds because of it.

2. Anyone caught with over 25 marijuana plants or equivalent in dried marijuana in our state gets their case bumped up to the federal level, and so marijuana growers in California almost always end up in federal rather than state prison.

Salazar knows all of this, of course, but of course he's not going to admit it, because he wants 19 to fail.

[Abraham Lincoln]

"Prohibition ... goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man's appetite by legislation, and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes. A Prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded."

Abraham Lincoln (1809-65), U.S. President.
Speech, 18 Dec. 1840, to Illinois House of Representatives

[Regan DuCasse]

1. I don't appreciate marijuana being portrayed as worse than alcohol. It isn't. It's just as bad, but in a different way.

2. Unlike someone taking a drink, marijuana use exposes others to the smoke, involuntarily.

If anyone naively thinks this will take the profit incentive from gangs, apparently are unaware that drug cartels are into MUCH more other kinds of smuggling and contraband than marijuana.
NOT USING marijuana would take profits from them too, but how silly of me to think that someone THIS hellbent on getting high would care about that?

Which leads me to my other point: I don't like being exposed to marijuana against my will. It's been very difficult to have the most casual of social encounters without someone lighting a joint. The user doesn't care, about who is around them. Even children.
Or where or when they are using it.
And yes, users are VERY impaired...they just don't notice it. Nor the long term effects from regular use.
Just like a drinker doesn't know what their liver is going though, the marijuana affected brain does have levels of change that isn't healthy either.

As for the racial aspect here: if people of color are going to complain the justice system is stacked against them. This is incentive NOT to do something illegal that you can't afford to do.
One CAN avoid such problems, that is a choice. Taking away the consequences of an indulgence that's proven more harmful than reported, enables the very selfishness indicative of addicts.

[Ned Flanders]

I'm voting for Prop 19 anyway, but now I have a new best reason to want it to pass. I'm white, and don't smoke, but statistics like these make me furious. So go Prop 19! If one less black person is arrested as a result we're all better off as a society.

And pretty funny that Pasadena and Torrence had the highest arrest disparities. Wonder if that's just a coincidence?

If you haven't voted yet, please vote yes on Prop 19, and help end this needless racial arrest disparity (can you say "profiling"?). No one should be being arrested for pot, especially not primarily one ethnic group. Prosecuting marijuana possession is the biggest waste of money there is.

Yes on Prop 19!

Enough said.

[u know]

Everytime I go buy pot, it's always from a Black and sometimes a Hispanic dealer. The only White dealers I've bought from are in the Medical Marijuana clinics. So it would seem to be logical that blacks should get arrested more, they're on the street selling it more.

Which brings up an interesting point. If Prop 19 passes, wouldn't that put more Blacks and Hispanics out of work? And Whitey would stand to make more money...

I better light up and rethink my position on Prop 19, anyone else wanna blaze one up with me?

[Bigwill]

Of cause law enforcemen are gonna be against ligalization eventhough it's the right thing to do but just like the drug dealers they want to protect their business if not they will be unemploy billions of dollars on the so call war on drugs and what do we have to show for it mass murder and incaserations and a product that is no harder to find than a loth of bread