At least seven states are poised to vote on marijuana legalization this year. But don’t expect it to fix all the problems.
As marijuana legalization and decriminalization has rolled out around the country, a major call-to-arms for its supporters has been the racialized enforcement of the “War on Drugs.” Though marijuana use is roughly equal among black and white cannabis lovers, an ACLU report found that black people are 3.73 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession. In some states that number jumps above eight. Considering marijuana possession accounts for half of all drug arrests in the country, decriminalization of the drug could be a major change.
Or at least, that’s what it seemed like. But four years after Washington and Colorado voted to allow recreational cannabis, African American users still seem to be the ones paying the price. According to a study released recently, marijuana arrest rates tumbled from 2008 to 2014, dropping 60 and 90 percent in Colorado and Washington, respectfully. But in both states the post-legalization arrest rate for black marijuana users was just over double that for non-black people—the same as before legalization.
And according to a recent report from Buzzfeed, it’s the same problem for youth offenders as well. In Colorado, white adolescents (between the ages of 10-17) being arrested for marijuana decreased by eight percent between 2012 and 2014, but black juvenile arrests increased by 58 percent and Latino juvenile arrests increased 29 percent. According to the article, some of that comes back to the way counties have broken up enforcement:
According to a 2013 survey done by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Pueblo County has the highest rates of teen marijuana use in the state — 32.1% of high schoolers — but only five adolescents were arrested for marijuana-related crimes there in 2014. Compare that to Arapahoe County, which has about average rates of teen marijuana use (20.6% of high schoolers) when compared to the rest of the state (19.7%), but where nearly 400 students were arrested for marijuana in 2014.
Tustin Amole, the director of communications at Cherry Creek Schools in Arapahoe County, said that while her district decides how to handle marijuana offenses on a case-by-case basis, she felt the students who are being arrested accurately reflect which students are smoking pot.
“We don’t really have zero tolerance policies, because there are so many variations and circumstances. You have to take them all into account,” Amole told BuzzFeed News. “All I can say is while it may seem disproportionate, those are the students we’re catching with the drugs.”
To be fair, because African Americans constituted such a disproportionately large proportion of marijuana arrests before legalization, analysts say the disparity staying constant during a massive drop in the number of marijuana arrests means that the avoided arrests were also disproportionately African American. But essentially the evidence is touching on a truth that most people already know: Decriminalization won’t wipe the slate clean. There’s no tabula rasa that can suddenly legislate away the long-term effects the War on Drugs has had on people of color.
As John Bouman noted for The Shriver Brief last year, the racialized policing of marijuana prohibition is wide-reaching:
Racial bias takes many forms and infects all systems in our society. The killing of racial minorities by police is but one violent example of racial injustice. But there are thousands of other examples of racial injustice that slowly and systemically deprive racial minorities of their rights, their opportunity, and of their belief in a free and just society.
“Thanks to centuries of oppression…black people who hope to profit from marijuana sales generally can’t afford the $250,000 start-up costs to get their businesses off of the ground,” wrote Think Progress in March. “And banks are unable to give them business loans, because the federal government, which still considers marijuana illegal, insures them. With easier access to cash and property, white men dominate the legal industry.”
Legalization has begun to gather steam around the country, thanks to effective grassroots efforts and popular demands. Twenty-three states have medical marijuana, and four of those plus Washington, D.C. permit recreational use. Public support for marijuana has never been higher—doubling over the past 20 years to a recent high of 58 percent—and Americans are more interested in forgiving non-violent offenders.
But as recent reports have made clear, it’s not quite as simple as taking marijuana possession off the table. The “green rush” is going to be a massive driver of revenue in the coming years, especially as the decriminalization movement continues to fight across the country. Hopefully in the future it’s less of a black and white issue.
