MARIJUANA PROFILING

Though They Use Marijuana Less, More Blacks Than Whites Are Arrested
for It, a New Study Shows.

White people between the ages of 18 and 25 use marijuana at a higher
rate than their black peers, according to the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services, so you would naturally assume that young
white people would also have a higher arrest rate for marijuana
possession than young black people. But that's not the case. A report
released last week found that police in California's biggest cities
arrest blacks for possession at four, five and even 13 times the rate
of whites. It is this unequal enforcement of the marijuana laws - and
the consequences for the African American community - that have led
the California NAACP, along with the National Black Police Assn., to
support Proposition 19. This page opposes Proposition 19, but
regardless of whether the measure succeeds or fails, the racial
inequity is real and should not continue unaddressed.

According to the new study, issued jointly by the California NAACP and
the Drug Policy Alliance, blacks in Los Angeles are arrested for
possession of marijuana at seven times the rate of whites; in San
Diego, at six times the rate. In Torrance, the numbers are
particularly striking, with blacks arrested at 13.8 times the rate of
whites. Indeed, the phenomenon occurs in every county in the state and
involves almost every police department. The upshot for those
arrested, even if they don't end up in prison, is a permanent record
that has lifelong consequences. Most marijuana possession arrests do
not lead to long prison sentences these days, but having an arrest
record and the stigma of being a "drug offender" negatively affects
opportunities for employment and housing and higher education. Such
information also is visible to credit agencies, licensing boards and
banks. California recently downgraded the charge to an infraction - a
positive step - but collateral damage is still likely; the low-income
people most commonly arrested would have the most difficulty paying
the fines for the infraction - and failure to do so would bring the
charge back to a misdemeanor.

Why are blacks arrested at such disproportionate rates? The report
concludes that it's not personal prejudice or racism on the part of
police officers. The NAACP says it is the result of the long-standing
strategy of saturating minority communities with officers who then
overzealously stop and frisk people. Were such a strategy pursued in a
white community, a high number of arrests would result there as well.
The police say they are simply trying protect the citizens in
high-crime areas.

Supporters of Proposition 19 say the solution is to legalize marijuana
for all. But that's addressing a symptom, not the problem. The real
culprit is not marijuana laws but policing practices that vary wildly
from community to community. That's why Proposition 19 is not the answer.