Advertisement
Politi-Cal

NAACP leader under fire for backing pot initiative

By Patrick McGreevy
Share

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

More than 20 African American religious and community leaders called Wednesday for California NAACP President Alice Huffman to resign after she endorsed a November ballot measure to legalize marijuana in the state.

Bishop Ron Allen and other members of the International Faith-Based Coalition said Proposition 19 would hurt the African American community and questioned why Huffman would back the measure.

Advertisement

‘Why would the state NAACP advocate for blacks to stay high,’ Allen said at a Capitol press conference. ‘It’s going to cause crime to go up. There will be more drug babies.’

Huffman recently explained her endorsement by saying that African Americans are disproportionately affected by the enforcement of marijuana laws. A higher percentage of blacks are sent to jail then are believed to use the drug, she said. Huffman did not return calls Wednesday seeking comment.

-- Patrick McGreevy in Sacramento

Politi-Cal
Patrick McGreevy

Patrick McGreevy covered the California Legislature out of the Sacramento bureau until 2021. He joined the Los Angeles Times in 1998 and worked in the City Hall and San Fernando Valley bureaus, writing about subjects including Valley secession, LAPD reform and city government during the administrations of Mayors Richard Riordan, James Hahn and Antonio Villaraigosa. He is a native of San Diego and a graduate of San Jose State University.

Advertisement