CITING HIGH BLACK ARRESTS, NAACP ENDORSES POT LEGALIZATION

On Monday, the California State Conference of the NAACP announced its
"unconditional endorsement" of a November initiative that would
legalize the recreational use of marijuana.

On Tuesday, the NAACP said why. According to a just-released study by
the Drug Policy Alliance, blacks are far more likely to be arrested
for pot possession than whites - even though statistically, blacks
use marijuana at lower rates than whites. The Alliance, a national
advocacy group, favors treatment rather than arrest or imprisonment
for people suffering from drug dependency.

Meanwhile, a prominent African-American opponent of the initiative
accused the group's leader, Alice Huffman, of selling out "to the
highest bidder" with the endorsement.

At a press conference at the California NAACP's Sacramento
headquarters, the group's president, Alice Huffman, portrayed
marijuana laws as a means of criminalizing young black men. She was
joined by several other African-American leaders, including Aubry
Stone, president of the California Black Chamber of Commerce, and
Neil Franklin of the group Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP).

"It is time for them to stop using my community to fill the prisons,"
Huffman said. "Once you get into the system, the next time you get
arrested, they bump you up [to more serious charges]."

Defendants are usually given a summons that "looks like a traffic
ticket," the report noted. They're not given a public defender, and
usually end up paying a fine that can add up to hundreds of dollars.
But afterwards, these people have officially pleaded guilty to a drug
offense. This, in turn, shows up on criminal databases and can come
up years later when, for instance, the person applies for a job.

"For young, low-income African Americans and Latinos - who use
marijuana less than young whites, and who already face numerous
barriers and hurdles - a criminal record for the 'drug crime' of
marijuana possession can seriously harm their life chances," the report said.

The study also found that total marijuana arrests have gone up, even
while overall crime and arrest rates have been going down. There were
more than 60,000 arrests for marijuana possession in California in
2008, according to the report, compared to 20,000 in 1990. These
arrest records come from the U.S. Government's FBI Uniform Crime Report.

Arrests for "youth of color" rose four times faster than that, from
3,100 in 1990 to 16,300 in 2008. The study found that blacks and
Latinos make up 44 percent of California's population, but 56 percent
of marijuana possession arrests. This was despite the fact that
whites were slightly more likely than blacks to have had used
marijuana in the past month; whites were about 50 percent more likely
than Latinos to have used the drug in the preceding month.

These statistics held true across California - in rural and urban
areas, and in areas with both high and low African-American
populations, compared to the state average. In every one of
California's 25 largest counties, blacks were arrested at higher
rates than whites. Across these 25 counties, representing 90 percent
of the state's population, blacks represent 7 percent of the
population but 20 percent of arrests for marijuana possession. In Los
Angeles County, blacks are 10 percent of the population, but
represent 30 percent of marijuana arrests. Overall, they're arrested
for pot at 332 percent of the rate of whites.

The marijuana legalization initiative was put on the November ballot
by Richard Lee, the founder of Oaksterdam University, an Oakland
school that teaches people how to get into the medical marijuana
business. On Monday, the Secretary of State's office gave it the
designation of Proposition 19.

The measure's ultimate fate at the ballot box is uncertain. Polls
have shown the measure with support ranging from the high 40s to high
50s - a dangerous place to be for any controversial initiative. Some
also charge Proposition 19 is badly drafted.

One major voice opposing Proposition 19 is Bishop Ron Allen, the
president of a group called the International Faith Based Coalition.
He said marijuana is a gateway drug, and legalizing it would lead to
more crime and violence in poor communities. As evidence, he pointed
to the murders last week of two workers in separate armed robberies
at medical marijuana dispensaries in Los Angeles. Other opponents
include the state's narcotic enforcement officers and other law
enforcement groups.

He also claimed that 60 percent of marijuana arrests are of whites.

"These statistics are not correct," Allen said of the Drug Policy
Alliance study.

Allen is a recovering addict himself, having moved from pot to crack
in his early years. One of Allen's colleagues in the cause, Elder
Jesse Williams, said his own 14-year-old son is a marijuana addict
who has robbed people at gun and knife-point, and even stolen his own
mother's car, to satisfy his fix.

"Legalizing marijuana will never be the solution to stopping black
arrests," Allen said. "She knows that. It's a smokescreen."

He also questioned Huffman's motives to the endorsement, saying, "We
are afraid the good name of the NAACP is being sold to the highest bidder."

A SurveyUSA poll conducted back in April shows that Allen's message
isn't resonating with African-American voters.

The telephone poll of 500 adults conducted found the idea of
legalizing pot leading 56 percent to 42 percent. Among
African-Americans surveyed, 67 percent supported the idea, while only
29 percent were opposed. Fifty-nine percent of white voters supported
the idea, along with 58 percent of Asians and only 45 percent of Hispanics.

The results were also heavily tilted by gender and age. Men support
legalizing marijuana by a 65 percent to 32 percent margin. Women
oppose the idea, 46 percent to 51 percent.

Three quarters of voters under 35 support the idea - the only age
group that gave it majority support.