New Report Shows Louisiana Marijuana Possession Laws Disproportionately Enforced Against Blacks
WASHINGTON, D.C. – According to a report released Monday evening that details marijuana possession arrest rates in the United States from 2001 to 2010, Louisiana marijuana possession laws are disproportionately enforced against blacks.
Louisiana had the fourteenth highest arrest rate in the nation (300 per 100,000) and the nineteenth most total arrests for marijuana possession in 2010 (13,435), of which blacks accounted for approximately 61%. Blacks were more than three times more likely to be arrested than whites.
“Marijuana prohibition is taking a toll on the entire country, Louisiana is among the states 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.”
Last week, the Louisiana House of Representatives approved a bill by a vote of 54-38 that would reduce marijuana possession penalties for second and subsequent offenses. The measure is now being considered by the Senate, where it was reported favorably out of committee by a vote of 4-2. HB 103, introduced by Rep. Austin Badon, would change the maximum sentence for a second possession offense to two years rather than five; a third offense would carry a five-year maximum sentence instead of 20; and the maximum sentence for a fourth offense would be set at eight years rather than life. In addition to lowering penalties and possible incarceration time for marijuana possession offenses, the proposal would also remove marijuana possession from the list of offenses that receive mandatory minimum sentences.
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/criminal-law-reform/war-marijuana-black-and-white-report.
