Washington, D.C.-(ENEWSPF)- According to a report released Monday evening that details marijuana possession arrest rates in the United States from 2001 to 2010, Alabama marijuana possession laws are disproportionately enforced against blacks.
Blacks accounted for approximately 60% of arrests for marijuana possession in 2010 and they were more than four times more likely to be arrested than whites. Coffee County had the third and ninth highest disparities of any county in the nation with blacks being arrested at approximately 26 times and 14 times the rates of whites, respectively.
“Marijuana prohibition is taking a toll on the entire country, but the black community in Alabama is among those paying the biggest price,” said Mason Tvert, director of communications for the Marijuana Policy Project. “Law enforcement resources would be better spent addressing serious crimes instead of arresting adults for using a substance objectively less harmful than alcohol.”
“Marijuana prohibition laws are not only irrational, but also unfair,” Tvert said. “Discrimination against communities of color played a role in their creation and it continues to play a role in their enforcement.”
The report, prepared by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), is based Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program and the United States Census Bureau’s annual county population estimates. The full report is available at http://www.aclu.org.
