DRUG WAR FUELS BLACK SUPPORT FOR ISSUE 1

A state ballot issue that would require treatment, rather than jail, for
many nonviolent drug offenders has broad support from African-Americans
frustrated that blacks are disproportionately affected by the war on drugs.

Several statewide voter surveys have found African-American support for
Issue 1, a proposed amendment to the Ohio Constitution, is significantly
higher than that of whites. Try Our Classifieds

Incarcerating nonviolent offenders has public policy implications that the
state legislature should have addressed long ago, said Cuyahoga County
Commissioner Peter Lawson Jones.

"The General Assembly has refused to address this issue," he said. "It is
out of a sense of frustration that many of us see a constitutional
amendment as the only viable option."

Most African-American elected officials in Greater Cleveland support the issue.

Besides Jones, supporters include U.S. Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones,
Cleveland City Council President Frank Jackson and BEDCO - the Black
Elected Democrats of Cleveland, Ohio. Among the religious leaders who
support it are the Rev. C. Jay Matthews of Mount Sinai Baptist Church, the
Rev. Marvin McMickle of Antioch Baptist Church and the United Pastors in
Mission.

Support for Issue 1 is in contrast to African-American reaction to keeping
mayoral control of Cleveland schools. Most African-American elected
officials support that issue, while a collection of grass-roots groups have
come out against it.

Yet, there are divergent views even within the strong base of support.

Issue 1 is a civil rights issue to the NAACP National Voter Fund. "There is
a disproportionate number of black people who have been affected by the
mandatory sentencing laws or by being charged with crack possession, which
carries higher penalties than cocaine possession, a charge whites are more
apt to face," said Greg Moore, the director of the Washington-based Voter's
Fund. "This is happening while statistics have shown that there isn't much
difference in the drug usage rates among whites and blacks. In fact, many
statistics show non-African-Americans use drugs more."

Tubbs Jones said the issue resonates among African-Americans for more
practical reasons.

"I don't know if it is a black and white issue," she said. "People in the
African-American community know more about the dearth of drug treatment
programs, that is why I believe they are more inclined to support it."

A September survey of likely voters by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research for
The Plain Dealer found 43 percent of African-American voters and 28 percent
of white voters supported Issue 1. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.5
percentage points.

A survey last week by Zogby International for the Toledo Blade and WTVG-TV
Channel 13 showed 78 percent of African-American respondents favored drug
treatment over prison time for many nonviolent first and second-time drug
offenders, compared to just 43 percent of white respondents. The margin of
error is plus or minus 4.1 percent.

Jamie Fellner, director of U.S. programs for Human Rights Watch, isn't
surprised that African-Americans support Issue 1 in greater numbers than
whites. A 2000 study by her group, "Racial Disparities in the War on
Drugs," found that African-Americans constitute a disproportionately high
percentage of the prison population, and are more likely to do time for
drug offenses.

In Ohio, 50 percent of the current prison population is African-American,
according to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.
African-Americans constitute 11.5 percent of Ohio's population. Statistics
showing a breakdown by race of inmates imprisoned for drug offenses weren't
available from the department.

The HRW study said that 40 percent of African-American inmates were
imprisoned for drug offenses - about twice the number of whites. In both
cases, more than 70 percent were imprisoned for nonviolent crimes.

Fellner said the arrests were higher because it is easier for police to
target inner-city neighborhoods for drug busts since drug dealing is
commonly done in a public place. In more affluent neighborhoods, she said,
drug dealing usually occurs in homes and private clubs and residents would
raise civil liberties concerns about sweeps.

"The war on drugs is having a great impact on the black population,"
Fellner said.