Pubdate: Thu, 06 Mar 2014
Source: New York Times (NY)
Copyright: 2014 The New York Times Company
Contact: http://www.nytimes.com/ref/membercenter/help/lettertoeditor.html
Website: http://www.nytimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/298
Author: Ezekiel Edwards
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v14/n207/a04.html

DRUG ARRESTS AND RACE

To the Editor:

"Pivotal Point Is Seen on Legalizing Marijuana" (front page, Feb. 27) 
plots the political present and future of marijuana legalization 
without a major data point: Americans' growing intolerance for the 
racial injustice embedded in the enforcement of marijuana prohibition.

Last June, we reported that a black person in this country is 3.73 
times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than a 
white person, despite similar rates of use. The media has seized on 
appalling facts like these, pushing racial justice to the center of 
the debate over marijuana reform in Washington, D.C.; Portland, Me.; 
and elsewhere.

EZEKIEL EDWARDS

Director, Criminal Law Reform Project

American Civil Liberties Union

New York, Feb. 27, 2014
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom