Street roots
FT h TTR
May 11, 2012
13
Decriminalization lessens collateral damage of marijuana arrests
BY N A IVA SH A DEAN
C O N T R IB U T IN G C O L U M N IS T
hances are, you’ve signed a petition
or two recently. Advocates looking to
get their initiatives on the ballot in
November must reach 116,283 valid
signatures by July 6, and the impending
deadline means that
they’re ramping up their
efforts. Chances are also
good that you’ve
encountered a signature
gatherer that asked you
to sign a petition to
decriminalize marijuana.
You might already be
familiar with the
arguments — our current marijuana laws
cost too much to enforce, and they don’t
work. But what you’ll rarely hear from the
person with the clipboard is that the
injustices go much deeper than a matter of
principle, or a waste of time and money.
Oregon’s 475,000 marijuana users are facing
even more alarming collateral consequences
- especially if they happen to be people of
color.
The Oregon Marijuana Legalization
Amendment, also known as IP-24, is notably
different from its predecessors - instead of
promoting the advantages of legalizing
marijuana, it emphasizes the need for
decriminalization of its recreational use.
The initiative would essentially take the
private, personal use and production of
marijuana for adults over the age of 21 out
of the hands of law enforcement — except
for actions that endanger minors or public
safety. Once passed, decisions about
creating laws, regulations, and potential
systems for taxation would be up to the
state. The same group that successfully
backed the 1998 Oregon Medical Marijuana
Act, Citizens for Sensible Law Enforcement
(CSLE), is responsible for promoting IP-24.
CLSE has a practical message for voters:
Oregon should stop wasting law
enforcement and judicial resources on
otherwise law-abiding adults who choose to
use marijuana. The framework is a familiar
one to followers of the legalization debate:
Yes, these laws are expensive, and yes,
valuable law enforcement resources could
be better prioritized. What CLSE knows,
and many voters don’t realize, is that
marijuana arrests are key in perpetuating
the shamefully large racial disparities that
plague our country’s criminal justice
system.
C
co
SAFETY and
JUSTICE
Naivasha Dean is the
membership
coordinator for
Partnership fo r Safety
and Justice. PSJ is a
statewide, non-profit
advocacy
organization
dedicated to m aking
Oregon’s approach to
crime and public
safety more effective
and more just.
- Oregon has big problems in this area.
Oregon’s 2011 Legislative Report Card on
Racial Equity describes the disproportionate
and biased impact that our criminal justice
policies and practices have on communities
of color, which make up 21.5 percent of
Oregon’s population. Black people are more
than five times as likely to be incarcerated
in Oregon’s state prison system as Whites,
and Oregon ranks 13th highest in the
country for its number of black people in
prison per capita - despite having one of
the smallest black populations in the
country.
Dr. Harry Levine, a researcher who has
recently concentrated on the epidemic of
marijuana arrests in large cities throughout
the U.S., has found that young black people
and Latinos are disproportionately arrested
for marijuana possession. Federal data
shows that whites are more likely to
consume marijuana, but Levine found that
in New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles,
police arrest black people for marijuana
possession at seven times the rate of
whites. Levine plans to take his research
across in the country, and will be looking
into racial disparities in Oregon within the
next year. Adam Smith, the director of
CSLE, says that all indications point to the
problem being severe in our state as well.
“Preliminary analysis has found that racial
disproportionalities exist in Oregon. The
marijuana arrest rate is between two and
three times higher for black people than
whites - and in that statistic, Latinos are
included as white. If you were to separate
out that data, the disparity would be even
greater.” The takeaway is this: Although
studies show that whites are more likely to
use marijuana, people of color are much
more likely to be arrested and imprisoned
for marijuana violations. The drug laws
themselves might not be discriminatory, but
the enforcement is badly skewed.
Young people are also especially affected
by marijuana arrests and convictions. In
New York City, 55 percent of the people
arrested in 2011 for a low-level marijuana
possession were under 30. Although CLSE
is still in the process of determining Oregon
specific data, Smith is confident that the
statistics in our state are similar. “We
believe that at least half of all marijuana
possession violations in the state are given
to people under 30 years of age,” he says.
This is troubling because misdemeanor
arrest and conviction records can be
permanent barriers to future employment,
housing and education opportunities. The
advent of the Internet means that most
records are instantly searchable by anyone
with computer access, and the impact of the
recession means that employers and
landlords, overwhelmed by applicants, often
eliminate those with criminal arrest records,
especially if the arrest shows up simply as
“drug arrest,” or “controlled substance
offense,” without specifying the substance,
charge or whether the person was actually
convicted. A Drug Policy Alliance report
noted, “For young, low-income African
Americans and Latinos - who use marijuana
less than young whites, and who already
face numerous barriers and hurdles — a
criminal record for the ‘drug offense’ of
marijuana possession can seriously harm
their life chances.”
In Oregon, a marijuana arrest that doesn’t
even result in charges or a conviction takes
at minimum a year to be expunged — and
there are still no guarantees that the arrest
won’t show up in an online search. And
despite Oregon’s progressive history when
it comes to decriminalizing marijuana, it’s
no joke to get a possession charge — the
penalties for getting caught with one joint
can involve a $1,000 fine, court costs, a six-
month driver’s license suspension, and that
potentially permanent record.
It is very likely that IP-24 will be on the
ballot come November, along with another
legalization measure, The Oregon Cannabis
Tax Act, which would create a commission
to regulate the cultivation and sale of
cannabis. Adam Smith believes that IP-24
gets to the core of the problem by
preventing the arrests of adults who are
posing no danger to public safety. If you’re a
voter, you might get the chance to weigh in.
A “no” vote would keep the status quo
intact — possessing, growing, and smoking
marijuana could still land you with hefty
penalties, some that will last a lifetime. A
“yes” vote would help make Oregon one of
the most progressive states in the nation
around this issue, and be a big step towards
removing crippling barriers for young
people. And although the passage of the
Oregon Marijuana Legalization Amendment
might help to lessen some of the racial
disparities in our state’s criminal justice
system, it would not address the. root causes
of why we disproportionately lock up people
of color. We have a whole lot more work to
do on that.
Street Roots is a proud partner with the Jesuit
Volunteer Corps Northwest and Americorps.
NORTHWEST