Perpetual Racial Inequality
Maggie Sweeney
Many people believe that the United States is currently in a predominantly post-racial era. Then why are Blacks nearly four times more likely than Whites to be arrested for marijuana possession?
Marijuana, or Cannabis if you will, has been a very popular and controversial topic in the U.S. social and political system, particularly in the past few years. Several decades after the escalation of the war on drugs, drug possession and sales are still increasing. However, since the recent decriminalization of marijuana offenses in some states, and the legalization in a few, the national incarceration rate for these crimes has decreased. “In the early 1970s half the American public believed marijuana legalization would turn ordinary people into drug addicts” wrote Bruce Barcott, author of Weed the People: The Future of Legal Marijuana in America. Significant change has patently occurred in the marijuana industry in the past few decades. In September of 2015, Jeff Mizanskey was released from prison after 21 years. He spent a major chunk of his life imprisonated for possession of a drug that is now considered a medicine in many states.
He had been given a life sentence after convicting three non-violent marijuana related charges. Mizanskey’s family member created a petition on change.org to raise awareness of the absurdity of this offense, and expedite his release. He was ultimately released in September of 2015. This recent decision has been inspiring for lawmakers in his homestate of Missouri, who have since eased the penalties for non-violent offenders. It has also sparked the interest of other state governments who have decided to review or revise their criminal policies. Cases similar to Mizanskey’s have been occurring across the nation and contributing to the perpetual growth of the marijuana industry.
Although the population of marijuana offenders in prisons across the nation is diminishing, there is still a serious issue with racially biased arrests. Racial disparities are certainly apparent among those who are currently incarcerated for marijuana related crimes. Recent reports have found a racial gap in a variety of drug arrests, but particularly in marijuana related crimes in states that have yet to decriminalize the substance. Billions of taxpayers’ dollars are being wasted on racially biased arrests that stem from non-violent marijuana use and distribution. Unconstitutional stops and searches are also much more prevalent among Black people. Police practices are known to be slow in regards to change. Some believe that authorities are primarily driven by their desire to increase their drug arrest statistics. Similar to how they may pull over drivers in order to reach their quota. The intense enforcement of possession laws in some states shamelessly traps thousands of innocent and harmless people into the criminal justice system. Many of these people are Black citizens who have been victimized by our policing system. The New Jim Crow, by Michelle Alexander, successfully exposes the issues that our nation deals with in regards to racist mass incarceration. Alexander argues that the U.S. criminal justice system uses the war on drugs as a tool for enforcing discrimination and repression. This has been a particularly controversial idea in this day and age of what some call a marijuana revolution.
“The War on Marijuana in Black and White: Billions of Dollars Wasted on Racially Biased Arrests” is the very first report to examine nationwide state and county marijuana arrest data by race, according to Our Weekly News. Findings show that although there were significant racial disparities in marijuana arrests 10 years ago, they have grown noticeably worse. If we are currently experiencing such exponential growth in patterns of decriminalization, then why have these racial inconsistencies exacerbated?
There were over 8 million marijuana related arrests in the U.S. between 2001 and 2010, according to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). There are records of extreme over-policing on non-violent drug criminals that have been recognized by several activist groups. One thing that particularly stands out to these groups is the racial discrimination against Black people. Large disparities still persist in the rate at which Black and Whites are incarcerated for drug offenses, despite evidence that shows their relatively equal usage rates.
Public debate on this matter has been prevalent for a while now, but little change has occurred. Black people are 3.7 times more likely than white people to be arrested for marijuana possession, according to a report released by the American Civil Liberties Union.
Jail time for marijuana possession heavily impacts an individual’s personal record and reputation. These offenses impact their ability to apply for and maintain jobs, financial aid, acquire public housing, maintain a driver’s license, and several other crucial aspects of life. Some individuals lose the priveledge of child custody or citizenship, which are both life altering benefits that many take for granted. These people will be categorized as “career criminals,” and forced to keep that label for the rest of their lives.
The ACLU Criminal Law Reform Project is currently working to reverse the trend of over-incarceration, particularly in the sector of racially biased arrests. According to the ACLU, they intend to do so by ending harsh policies, increasing protection of constitutional rights, and enhancing government transparency and accountability. “The war on marijuana has disproportionately been a war on people of color,” said the director of the ACLU Criminal Law Reform Project report, Ezekiel Edwards. It’s evidently a huge financial burden for local and state governments to enforce marijuana laws selectively against Black communities and people.
It is true that general drug offenders make up only a small portion of our prisons today. They account for only approximately one in five state and federal inmates. However, marijuana possession charges in particular, make up almost half of total drug arrests. Legal reforms such as decriminalization are not going to be effective at reducing overall racially biased arrest rates.
For example, Massachussets’ arrest rates declined after they decriminalized possession of small amount of cannabis in 2009, but, according to the Washington Post, racial disparity in arrests did not fall at all. Much of the U.S. is following the trend of decriminalization and legalization of cannabis, yet this certainly isn’t changing the statistics of racial disparity within the criminal justice system. The overarching issue of racial disparity in the criminal justice system has evidently not been well reformed or addressed since the recent decriminalizations and legalizations across the nation.
