Arrest Rates Drop Where Weed Is Legal, but Not for Everyone

Advocates and marijuana lovers cheered in 2012 when Colorado and Washington legalized the contentious plant for recreational use, and the rest of the country has watched closely to see how the states’ tax-and-regulate systems would play out in practice. Now, a little more than a year after Colorado’s first marijuana retail stores opened their doors, a report from legalization advocates Drug Policy Alliance published Wednesday shows criminal charges for marijuana possession are down by an impressive 96 percent in the state, and distribution charges have fallen by 99 percent.

But legalization hasn’t been a cure-all for marijuana-related criminal justice involvement, particularly for people of color. Amendment 64, which legalized marijuana, did not legalize the plant’s public consumption—and according to the report, black people are still disproportionately being arrested for the offense. The marijuana arrest rate in 2014 was 2.4 times higher for black Coloradans than for whites. The data, which comes from the National Incident-Based Reporting System, does not include arrest rates for Latinos because they are not tracked by the system.

Racial disparities in marijuana arrests, and the enforcement of marijuana laws in general, are well documented throughout the country thanks to a 2013 report. The report found that black Americans nationwide were 3.67 times more likely than whites to be arrested for marijuana possession.

In 2013, marijuana arrests accounted for half of all drug arrests in the country, making clear why the reduction in possession charges in Colorado is a big deal. But if the laws that remain still disproportionately impact people of color, Colorado might want to hold off on celebrating. According to the report, black people account for 9.4 percent of all marijuana possession arrests, even though they only make up 3.8 percent of the state’s population. Colorado was a leader in legalization, but the hunt for a leader in dramatically reducing racially disproportionate marijuana arrests is still on.

Original article from TakePart