THE POLITICS OF CANNABIS AND COLOR

Alice Huffman's explanation of the California NAACP's endorsement of
Proposition 19, the state initiative calling for the regulated
legalization and taxation of marijuana, was well reasoned and smartly
put. But she was promptly pounced upon, smeared by a collection of
out-of-touch, fear-mongering detractors, including "more than 20
African American religious and community leaders" headed by one Bishop
Ron Allen.

Mr. Allen's statement was illogical, and insulting and condescending
to the multitudes of African American civic leaders, including law
enforcement officers and members of the clergy, who are working to end
a drug war that has had devastating effects on communities of color.

Young black men have been hit particularly hard. As a new study by the
Drug Policy Alliance points out, young blacks consume marijuana at
rates lower than young whites. Yet in the 25 largest counties of
California where blacks constitute 7 percent of the population,
African American men are being arrested at double, triple, or even
quadruple the rates for whites. This is not accidental.

Born of bigotry and sourced in fear, U.S. drug policy began with
conveniently legalized discrimination against the Chinese, then
Latinos, and finally African Americans.

That many of today's law enforcement officers deny overt racism in
enforcing drug laws, that they claim they're simply responding to
citizen complaints of street corner dealing and open-air drug markets,
makes the practice no less ruinous to the lives of young black men.

As Huffman points out, ending the drug war -- or, more modestly,
bringing a halt to the indisputable madness of marijuana prohibition
- -- is imperative if we are to help halt the institutionalized denial
of civil rights and civil liberties in African American
communities.

Yet, speaking as "President and CEO" of the "International Faith-Based
Coalition," a pro-drug war organization that seems to have sprung up
out of nowhere to combat Proposition 19, Bishop Allen addressed a news
conference on the steps of the state capital. "Why would the NAACP
advocate for blacks to stay high?" he said. "It's going to cause crime
to go up," he said. "There will be more drug babies," he said. Huffman
"must resign," he said.

Stop and think, Mr. Allen: Huffman was hardly urging blacks to "stay
high," or even to pick up a single joint; marijuana legalization will
cause crime to go down, not up; and there will be fewer drug babies.

How do we know this? History, science, and common sense. Between 1920
and 1933, alcohol prohibition produced an explosion of violent crime,
drive-by shootings, overdose deaths (think bad bathtub gin), and
obscene profits for bootleggers -- yesteryear's drug cartels and
street dealers. It took only 13 years for Americans to come to their
senses and repeal the Volstead Act. In so doing, we put the skids to
an illicit industry whose monopolized commerce had guaranteed street
violence. Alcohol was "re-legalized," its wholesaling and retailing
"re-regulated." Taxes, once again, were collected. Crime went down.

And that feckless comment about "more drug babies"? Ponder this, Mr.
Allen. If a parent chooses not to consume marijuana solely because it
is illegal, is that really the kind of law-abiding, conscientious
parent who, under a newly legalized system, would put his or her baby
at risk?

The great majority of today's 25 million or so regular marijuana
consumers don't drive stoned, beat their partners, rob convenience
stores, or feed THC-laced brownies to their toddlers. They've simply
chosen to consume an illegal drug that they know to be demonstrably
safer and healthier than alcohol, with far fewer harmful effects than
tobacco.

Of course, some consume too much marijuana. In Mr. Allen's words, they
"stay high." But under a system of regulated legalization, these
individuals would be treated as medical patients, not law-breakers.
With no criminal stigma attached they'd be more likely to seek help
for their affliction. And, under a public health vs. criminal justice
orientation, they would be more likely to get that help.

Why continue to criminalize behavior we know, scientifically, to be
safer than today's legal, commercially marketed alcohol and tobacco
products? Why force millions of Americans to rely on a distribution
system that cannot guarantee quality, a product free of dangerous
additives? Why feed the self-perpetuating violence and greed machine
that is the current "cartel" and street-gang system? Why suffer year
after year the loss of tax revenues (pot's the country's top cash
crop) that the government could be using to fund public safety, abuse
prevention, education, and drug treatment?

Fortunately, Huffman, a tough woman with no quit in her when it comes
to justice, has made it clear she's not backing off. She's received
strong support from other notable black leaders, including a former
chairman of the national NAACP. Julian Bond told her that, "...you and
the California NAACP are as right as you can be. The war on drugs is
an absolute failure. It targets black people."

The black community has from the beginning suffered far more drug war
casualties than any other segment of our society. Who, ultimately,
will capture the larger African American community's imagination when
it comes to future drug policy? An angry, ill-informed man of the
cloth whose "lock 'em and throw away the key" strategy promises to
make matters worse?

Or Alice Huffman, whose spirit of logic, compassion and courage
promises to rally support for the passage of Proposition 19?

Legalized marijuana, taxed, regulated, and controlled, would go a long
way toward ending a uniquely destructive form of American racism and
discrimination.