Arrest rates for all crimes have dropped 40% since 1990. Unfortunately, despite our state’s seemingly more liberal attitudes towards marijuana use, evidenced by medicinal marijuana legalization and discussion of complete legalization of the drug, arrests for marijuana possession have skyrocketed 127% since 1990.
What’s more shocking is the correlation between arrest rates and race. Half of those people arrested for marijuana possession in 1990 were nonwhite. The number has risen to 62% this year. When it comes to youths, 28% of those arrested were under age 20 in 1990. Now 42% of the arrestees are under 20. Marijuana possession arrests of nonwhite youths have risen from a little over 3,000 in 1990 to over over 16,000 in 2008. The increased percentage of arrests were three times the population growth of that group in California.
When it comes to just African Americans, the arrest numbers are even more disheartening. While blacks make up only 7% of the state population, they make up 22% of all people arrested for marijuana offenses and 33% of felony marijuana arrests. This discrepancy is not related to use rates for the group. Whites and blacks have equal marijuana usage rates and when the results are broken down by age, 18-25 year old African Americans use marijuana less than whites.
San Diego criminal attorneys see the discrepancy on a regular basis. For this reason, the Law Offices of James Warner urge the public to think about this racism when considering the effect of statewide marijuana legalization. Not only will the taxes help the state, but the unfair incarceration of young minorities will be reduced significantly.
For more information, please read the opinion article in the L.A. Times. Image via Elana CXLIV [Flickr].