Katelyn Baker
Well-Known Member
Boston - Since the decriminalization of marijuana possession in Massachusetts, racial disparities in marijuana arrests have persisted, disproportionately hurting African-Americans and Latinos.
Supporters of the legalization of recreational marijuana are pointing to the racial disparities as evidence of problems with the so-called War on Drugs. They are urging support for marijuana legalization as a way to reduce the long-term impacts that disproportionate arrest rates have on African-American youth.
But at the same time, there is evidence that in places with legal marijuana, racial disparities in marijuana arrests have continued. Legalization supporters acknowledge that marijuana legalization is not a cure for racial bias.
"This is not going to solve racial disparity in policing. This is the first step," said Whitney Taylor, political director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts.
The Massachusetts ACLU, which supports a ballot question that would legalize recreational marijuana, released a report Thursday that uses data from the FBI's crime reporting program to track arrests for marijuana-related offenses, including possession.
In 2008, Massachusetts voters decriminalized possession of one ounce or less of marijuana, enough for around 50 joints. Since then, arrests for possession have dropped from around 8,700 in 2008 to just 616 in 2014. (These arrests likely reflect possession of more than one ounce.)
The new report found that even while overall arrest rates plummeted, there are still racial disparities. In 2014, the marijuana possession arrest rate for black people was 3.3 times higher than for white people. The arrest rate for marijuana sales was 7.1 times higher for black people than white people, according to the ACLU, a larger disparity than existed in 2008. National surveys have shown that blacks and whites use marijuana at similar rates.
Compared to population, blacks account for 8 percent of the Massachusetts population, and 24 percent of marijuana possession arrests, according to the ACLU.
Shanel Lindsay, a Newton attorney involved in the marijuana legalization effort, who is black, says she was a victim of that disparity. Lindsay said she was driving to the commuter rail in 2010 when the police stopped her for a traffic violation and saw a small amount of marijuana in her purse. They searched her car, handcuffed her, impounded her car and drove her to the police station for booking.
"I'm pleading with him asking him why he is arresting me, why he is not just giving me a ticket," Lindsay said.
She finally convinced the police to weigh the marijuana. They found it was only half an ounce — less than the criminal limit - and released her.
"You will never be able to tell me that people are not being arrested and prosecuted for cannabis possession. If this happened to me in Sharon over 14 grams, you can only imagine what is happening to our young people of color around the state," Lindsay said.
Taylor, who is white, said she uses marijuana regularly but has never been arrested, which she attributed to "white privilege." "People are arrested for marijuana possession every day in Massachusetts, but they don't look like me and they don't look like the people who are leading the opposition — people with power, people with influence, people with the ability to use their whiteness in their favor," Taylor said.
Opponents of marijuana legalization cite different statistics. The Massachusetts district attorneys, in a search of their case resolutions, found that no one went to jail for marijuana possession alone in 2014 or 2015. In fiscal 2013, the district attorneys found that only 20 people were charged with marijuana possession and four were incarcerated, potentially because they had other charges as well.
These statistics reflect charging and incarcerations, not arrests.
One question unsolved by the data is what impact, if any, marijuana legalization would have on racial disparities.
In Colorado, where adults are allowed to use marijuana but juveniles are not, arrests of white juveniles for marijuana offenses dropped by 8 percent in the two years after legalization, while arrests of black juveniles rose by 58 percent and arrests of Latino juveniles rose by 29 percent. (Massachusetts would not have the identical issue because marijuana use by juveniles would be punishable by a fine not by arrest.) In 2014, the marijuana arrest rate for African-American adults in Colorado was almost triple that of whites, according to the Colorado Department of Public Safety.
News reports have found that Colorado marijuana shops are concentrated in low-income, minority neighborhoods.
Advocates from the Massachusetts ACLU and the pro-marijuana Yes on 4 campaign argue that by lowering marijuana arrest rates overall, which will disproportionately lower arrest rates for minorities, legalization will help black and Latino individuals get jobs and education without the burden of an arrest record.
"Communities of color can no longer afford to bear the brunt of policing practices that disproportionately target them," said Rahsaan Hall, ACLU's racial justice director and a former assistant district attorney.
Taylor said legalization will reduce the number of judgment calls that the police make on the street, limiting instances of bias. It will also limit the use of marijuana as the most common entry point into the criminal justice system.
Retired Roxbury District Court Judge Leslie Harris, who supports legalization, said even if drug charges do not stick, an arraignment will appear on someone's criminal record for the rest of their life.
But Harris acknowledged that legalization is "not a cure-all" for racial disparities in arrests. He said he anticipates that racial disparities in arrests would continue under marijuana legalization, just as they persist in arrests for public use of alcohol.
The Massachusetts Public Health Association came out Thursday in opposition to legalization. The association noted the discussion of racial disparities, but said there was no evidence legalization would make a difference.
"After careful study, MPHA has concluded that the ballot initiative does not contain sufficient public health protections and that the potential dangers far outweigh any potential benefits," the association said in a statement. "Further, we have found little evidence that this ballot question would have a substantive impact on the racial discrimination that has been a stain on our country's criminal justice system for far too long."
The public health association said disparities in the enforcement and impact of marijuana laws are well-documented and contribute to racial health disparities. But it noted that decriminalization has already reduced arrest numbers. It argued that the ballot question "has the potential to further exacerbate inequities by creating a large commercial industry with financial incentive to target low income communities and communities of color, a common strategy of the tobacco and alcohol industries."
The association suggested other criminal justice reforms that could be more effective in reducing racial disparities such as repealing mandatory minimum sentences for drug crimes and creating alternatives to incarceration for non-violent crimes.
Corey Welford, a spokesman for the Safe and Healthy Massachusetts campaign, which opposes legalization, said, "The marijuana industry has a history of targeting poorer and minority neighborhoods. Question 4 is not a solution for any of the racial disparities in our justice system and the only evidence from Colorado is that legalization will make racial disparities worse, not better."
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Racial Disparities Persist In Massachusetts Marijuana Arrests, ACLU Report Says
Author: Shira Schoenberg
Contact: MassLivec
Photo Credit: None Found
Website: MassLive
Supporters of the legalization of recreational marijuana are pointing to the racial disparities as evidence of problems with the so-called War on Drugs. They are urging support for marijuana legalization as a way to reduce the long-term impacts that disproportionate arrest rates have on African-American youth.
But at the same time, there is evidence that in places with legal marijuana, racial disparities in marijuana arrests have continued. Legalization supporters acknowledge that marijuana legalization is not a cure for racial bias.
"This is not going to solve racial disparity in policing. This is the first step," said Whitney Taylor, political director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts.
The Massachusetts ACLU, which supports a ballot question that would legalize recreational marijuana, released a report Thursday that uses data from the FBI's crime reporting program to track arrests for marijuana-related offenses, including possession.
In 2008, Massachusetts voters decriminalized possession of one ounce or less of marijuana, enough for around 50 joints. Since then, arrests for possession have dropped from around 8,700 in 2008 to just 616 in 2014. (These arrests likely reflect possession of more than one ounce.)
The new report found that even while overall arrest rates plummeted, there are still racial disparities. In 2014, the marijuana possession arrest rate for black people was 3.3 times higher than for white people. The arrest rate for marijuana sales was 7.1 times higher for black people than white people, according to the ACLU, a larger disparity than existed in 2008. National surveys have shown that blacks and whites use marijuana at similar rates.
Compared to population, blacks account for 8 percent of the Massachusetts population, and 24 percent of marijuana possession arrests, according to the ACLU.
Shanel Lindsay, a Newton attorney involved in the marijuana legalization effort, who is black, says she was a victim of that disparity. Lindsay said she was driving to the commuter rail in 2010 when the police stopped her for a traffic violation and saw a small amount of marijuana in her purse. They searched her car, handcuffed her, impounded her car and drove her to the police station for booking.
"I'm pleading with him asking him why he is arresting me, why he is not just giving me a ticket," Lindsay said.
She finally convinced the police to weigh the marijuana. They found it was only half an ounce — less than the criminal limit - and released her.
"You will never be able to tell me that people are not being arrested and prosecuted for cannabis possession. If this happened to me in Sharon over 14 grams, you can only imagine what is happening to our young people of color around the state," Lindsay said.
Taylor, who is white, said she uses marijuana regularly but has never been arrested, which she attributed to "white privilege." "People are arrested for marijuana possession every day in Massachusetts, but they don't look like me and they don't look like the people who are leading the opposition — people with power, people with influence, people with the ability to use their whiteness in their favor," Taylor said.
Opponents of marijuana legalization cite different statistics. The Massachusetts district attorneys, in a search of their case resolutions, found that no one went to jail for marijuana possession alone in 2014 or 2015. In fiscal 2013, the district attorneys found that only 20 people were charged with marijuana possession and four were incarcerated, potentially because they had other charges as well.
These statistics reflect charging and incarcerations, not arrests.
One question unsolved by the data is what impact, if any, marijuana legalization would have on racial disparities.
In Colorado, where adults are allowed to use marijuana but juveniles are not, arrests of white juveniles for marijuana offenses dropped by 8 percent in the two years after legalization, while arrests of black juveniles rose by 58 percent and arrests of Latino juveniles rose by 29 percent. (Massachusetts would not have the identical issue because marijuana use by juveniles would be punishable by a fine not by arrest.) In 2014, the marijuana arrest rate for African-American adults in Colorado was almost triple that of whites, according to the Colorado Department of Public Safety.
News reports have found that Colorado marijuana shops are concentrated in low-income, minority neighborhoods.
Advocates from the Massachusetts ACLU and the pro-marijuana Yes on 4 campaign argue that by lowering marijuana arrest rates overall, which will disproportionately lower arrest rates for minorities, legalization will help black and Latino individuals get jobs and education without the burden of an arrest record.
"Communities of color can no longer afford to bear the brunt of policing practices that disproportionately target them," said Rahsaan Hall, ACLU's racial justice director and a former assistant district attorney.
Taylor said legalization will reduce the number of judgment calls that the police make on the street, limiting instances of bias. It will also limit the use of marijuana as the most common entry point into the criminal justice system.
Retired Roxbury District Court Judge Leslie Harris, who supports legalization, said even if drug charges do not stick, an arraignment will appear on someone's criminal record for the rest of their life.
But Harris acknowledged that legalization is "not a cure-all" for racial disparities in arrests. He said he anticipates that racial disparities in arrests would continue under marijuana legalization, just as they persist in arrests for public use of alcohol.
The Massachusetts Public Health Association came out Thursday in opposition to legalization. The association noted the discussion of racial disparities, but said there was no evidence legalization would make a difference.
"After careful study, MPHA has concluded that the ballot initiative does not contain sufficient public health protections and that the potential dangers far outweigh any potential benefits," the association said in a statement. "Further, we have found little evidence that this ballot question would have a substantive impact on the racial discrimination that has been a stain on our country's criminal justice system for far too long."
The public health association said disparities in the enforcement and impact of marijuana laws are well-documented and contribute to racial health disparities. But it noted that decriminalization has already reduced arrest numbers. It argued that the ballot question "has the potential to further exacerbate inequities by creating a large commercial industry with financial incentive to target low income communities and communities of color, a common strategy of the tobacco and alcohol industries."
The association suggested other criminal justice reforms that could be more effective in reducing racial disparities such as repealing mandatory minimum sentences for drug crimes and creating alternatives to incarceration for non-violent crimes.
Corey Welford, a spokesman for the Safe and Healthy Massachusetts campaign, which opposes legalization, said, "The marijuana industry has a history of targeting poorer and minority neighborhoods. Question 4 is not a solution for any of the racial disparities in our justice system and the only evidence from Colorado is that legalization will make racial disparities worse, not better."
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Racial Disparities Persist In Massachusetts Marijuana Arrests, ACLU Report Says
Author: Shira Schoenberg
Contact: MassLivec
Photo Credit: None Found
Website: MassLive
