BLACK POLICE GROUP BACKS POT INITIATIVE

Proposition 19, the marijuana legalization initiative, picked up the
support Thursday of a national organization that represents African
American police officers, as the campaign for legalization continues
to seek backing in the black community and from law enforcement officials.

The National Black Police Assn., with about 15,000 members, is the
second African American organization to back the measure.

The California NAACP has also endorsed it, citing the
disproportionate number of arrests and incarcerations of African
Americans caught with marijuana.

Ron Hampton, the police association's executive director, said he
decided the group should back the measure because it would eliminate
laws that have a negative effect on the black community.

"It means that we will be locking up less African American men and
women and children who are using drugs," said Hampton, a retired
Washington, D.C., police officer with 25 years experience.