For the first time, President Obama acknowledged this week that the prohibition of marijuana is unfairly enforced against African-Americans and Latinos, and for that reason, he says, legalization in Colorado and Washington should go forward. Without explicitly endorsing the laws, he told the New Yorker, "it's important for [them] to go forward because it's important for society not to have a situation in which a large portion of people have at one time or another broken the law and only a select few get punished."
As the president acknowledged, marijuana prohibition targets black and brown people (even though marijuana users are equally or more likely to be white). Ending prohibition through passing legalization laws, as Colorado and Washington have, will reduce this racial disparity.
The war on drugs, as we all know, has led to mass criminalization and incarceration for people of color. The legalization of marijuana, which took effect for the first time in the country in Colorado on January 1, is one step toward ending that war. While the new law won't eradicate systemic racism in our criminal justice system completely, it is one of the most effective things we can do to address it. Here are three concrete ways that Colorado's law is good for people of color.
Benefits of Marijuana Legalisation what People Think:
- The new law means there will be no more arrests for marijuana possession in Colorado.
- Unlike under decriminalization, the new law means there will be no more arrests for mere marijuana possession in Colorado, period.
- We will reduce real problems associated with the illicit market.
