What’s Wrong With the System?
Why is the U.S. judicial system allowing people of color to have long incarceration rates for marijuana when the drug is now being legalized? We’re in the year 2022, and citizens are still being put in jail for the possession of marijuana. Marijuana has been decriminalized in 32 out of the 50 states, and fully legalized in 19 states. The legalization of marijuana is being spread in states throughout the country of the United States, but in states where it’s not legal, consequences are huge. According to a 2017 report from Brookings.edu,“…marijuana use is nearly the same between black and white Americans,” and yet people of color are being arrested and sentenced more than white people. This targeting needs to stop, and we need to bring awareness to this issue because something needs to change.
In recent surveys, the rate of use of marijuana across the United States is almost equal for people of color and white people. “Nationally, a Black person is 3.64 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than a white person, even though Black and white people use marijuana at similar rates.” (ACLU) This treatment is unjust and illogical. How is it fair that two people, with different skin colors, using the same drug, can be incarcerated for dramatically different lengths of time?
One recent example of this type of injustice is the story of Allen Russell, a 38 year old black man. He was sentenced to life in prison for his possession of 1.5 ounces of marijuana and yet, his “prior criminal history was limited to three nonviolent convictions.” According to a recent news report, a charge for possession came shortly after a non-violent conviction and both charges resulted in a life-without-parole sentence. This excessive punishment is a result of a specific law in Mississippi, which states that, “ every person who has been convicted twice previously of any felony” receives a “life-without-parole” sentence if at least one of the felonies was a “crime of violence.” This example quite clearly illustrates the ways in which the justice system, particularly in Mississippi, is willing to dole out incredibly unfair sentences for relatively minor offenses. Mr. Russell was sentenced for much longer than he should have been, yet this is the unfair treatment our justice system upholds. Was it because Russell was a man of color that he got an incredibly unfair sentence?
This is just one scenario where the United States justice system is doing quite the opposite in not upholding their promise to bring justice to those who have been wrongfully prosecuted. In cases where there is possession of marijuana, convicted people of color frequently receive more severe sentences. “According to state data, Black people accounted for 24 percent of the 27,977 convictions for possession of less than half an ounce of marijuana between 2011 and 2018. Statewide [In Connecticut], Black people comprise 10 percent of the total population, according to census data.” Given the numbers, it seems pretty shocking that Black people comprise 10 percent of the total population, yet they account for 24% of the convictions for marijuana possession. This data further reinforces the idea that people of color are unfairly targeted and treated. The privilege of being white is real in and out of the criminal justice system.
Recently, the state of Connecticut has passed a bill to legalize marijuana recreationally, and decriminalize it. Previous offenders who have been charged with a misdemeanor or other low level convictions before the year 2000 will have the opportunity to have those charges expunged. Luis Vega, a Connecticut resident, was arrested four years ago for growing 28 marijuana plants in his basement. Vega suffers from Crohn’s disease and uses these plants medically. “Vega is one of many Connecticut residents who will see low-level marijuana convictions disappear from their records, from the passage of both the clean-slate bill and the legalization of recreational cannabis.” However, Vega is lucky because he only had a minor conviction; if it had been a charge of a higher degree, his conviction would not have been wiped clean. Convictions that are more major, such as a larger amount of the drug, will keep the offender imprisoned regardless of the legal status of the drug. But if the drug is now presumed as legal, they should be freed and allowed a clean slate. In another situation, Jason Ortiz was arrested and charged with a cannabis offense when he was only 16 years old. He was smoking and walking to school with some of his friends, and had more marijuana in his bag. He was arrested and charged with multiple crimes, including intent to sell to a minor. His charges were severe, even though he was a minor, and he claims he was not going to sell the drug to his peers.
Vega and Ortiz were both two young men who made poor decisions that escalated higher than necessary. The outcome of their situations are just two examples of the unjust treatment people of color are constantly facing in their lives, and the United States justice system needs to take responsibility for the lives they’re ruining. “Both Vega and Ortiz are Latino, and data shows that people of color are disproportionately charged with low-level marijuana offenses in Connecticut.” If we were to release the wrongfully convicted folks from prison for their unjust charges, we would be able to solve two problems: wrongful convictions on people of color and having people serve time for possession of a drug that is now legalized.
What can be done to fix these injustices, and how can you get involved to help address these problems and improve things? Organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSPD) are working hard, “to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties that the Constitution and laws of the United States guarantee everyone in this country.” (ACLU) You can get involved too by spreading awareness of this topic, and donating to helpful organizations such as these, or ones similar to them.
More people need to be questioning our legal rights and legal system more often, or injustices such as this will continue. There are a lot of other issues that need to be addressed, such as the mass incarceration rates, and the biased and unfair legal practices occurring in the United States. But fixing the smaller injustices at the local level can be the best place to start. This is the country we’re living in and we have to start doing something to make a change for the better. We need to use our freedom of speech to stand up for what’s right. How can we say America is the land of the free if we aren’t giving fair sentences to all people regardless of their skin color?
Citations:
Brown, Elizabeth Nolan, et al. “This 38-Year-Old Man Will Spend Life in Prison over 1.5 Ounces of Marijuana.” Reason.com, Reason Foundation, 13 May 2021, https://reason.com/2021/05/13/this-38-year-old-man-will-spend-life-in-prison-over-1-5-ounces-of-marijuana/.
Dews, Fred. “Charts of the Week: Marijuana Use by Race, Islamist Rule in Middle East, Climate Adaptation Savings.” Brookings, Brookings, 11 Aug. 2017, https://www.brookings.edu/blog/brookings-now/2017/08/11/charts-of-the-week-marijuana-use-by-race/.
Edwards, Ezekiel. “NEW ACLU REPORT: BLACK PEOPLE STILL 2.6 TIMES MORE LIKELY TO GET ARRESTED FOR MARIJUANA IN MISSOURI.” ACLU of Missouri, AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION, 23 Apr. 2020, https://www.aclu-mo.org/en/news/new-aclu-report-black-people-still-26-times-more-likely-get-arrested-marijuana-missouri.
Fenster, Jordan. “How Legalizing Recreational Marijuana Will Affect Past Convictions in CT.” CT Insider, Hearst Communications, Inc, 3 Aug. 2021, https://www.ctinsider.com/news/article/How-legalizing-recreational-marijuana-will-affect-16356946.php.
Massey, Mark Friedman and Kyle. “Medical Marijuana Licensing Tests Scales of Justice.” Arkansas Business, Arkansas Business, 10 May 2021, https://www.arkansasbusiness.com/article/135769/medical-marijuana-licensing-tests-scales-of-justice.
Matthews, Dylan. “The Black/White Marijuana Arrest Gap, in Nine Charts.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 25 Nov. 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2013/06/04/the-blackwhite-marijuana-arrest-gap-in-nine-charts/.
Wissner, Rachel. “SSDP Welcomes Jason Ortiz as Executive Director.” SSDP, Students for Sensible Drug Policy, 29 Dec. 2021, https://ssdp.org/blog/ssdp-welcomes-jason-ortiz-as-executive-director/.
