I work this issue every day and am well aware of the racist nature of the War on (Certain American Citizens Using Non-Pharmaceutical, Non-Alcoholic, Tobacco-Free) Drugs. But even I wasn’t aware of the outrageous statistics comparing the Drug War to Jim Crow era. Michelle Alexander lays it all out in her new book, The New Jim Crow: How the War on Drugs Gave Birth to a Permanent American Undercaste:
- There are more African Americans under correctional control today — in prison or jail, on probation or parole — than were enslaved in 1850, a decade before the Civil War began.
- As of 2004, more African American men were disenfranchised (due to felon disenfranchisement laws) than in 1870, the year the Fifteenth Amendment was ratified, prohibiting laws that explicitly deny the right to vote on the basis of race.
- A black child born today is less likely to be raised by both parents than a black child born during slavery. The recent disintegration of the African American family is due in large part to the mass imprisonment of black fathers.
- If you take into account prisoners, a large majority of African American men in some urban areas have been labeled felons for life. (In the Chicago area, the figure is nearly 80%.) These men are part of a growing undercaste — not class, caste — permanently relegated, by law, to a second-class status. They can be denied the right to vote, automatically excluded from juries, and legally discriminated against in employment, housing, access to education, and public benefits, much as their grandparents and great-grandparents were during the Jim Crow era.
The uncomfortable truth, however, is that crime rates do not explain the sudden and dramatic mass incarceration of African Americans during the past 30 years. Crime rates have fluctuated over the last few decades — they are currently are at historical lows — but imprisonment rates have consistently soared. Quintupled, in fact. And the vast majority of that increase is due to the War on Drugs. Drug offenses alone account for about two-thirds of the increase in the federal inmate population, and more than half of the increase in the state prison population.
The drug war has been brutal — complete with SWAT teams, tanks, bazookas, grenade launchers, and sweeps of entire neighborhoods — but those who live in white communities have little clue to the devastation wrought. This war has been waged almost exclusively in poor communities of color, even though studies consistently show that people of all colors use and sell illegal drugs at remarkably similar rates. In fact, some studies indicate that white youth are significantly more likely to engage in illegal drug dealing than black youth. Any notion that drug use among African Americans is more severe or dangerous is belied by the data. White youth, for example, have about three times the number of drug-related visits to the emergency room as their African American counterparts.
That is not what you would guess, though, when entering our nation’s prisons and jails, overflowing as they are with black and brown drug offenders. In some states, African Americans comprise 80%-90% of all drug offenders sent to prison.
The only thing more shocking to me than the new Jim Crow of the drug war is how few African-Americans are involved in ending it.
- The board of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) is composed of 14 white men, 1 white woman, and 1 Latina (Full disclosure: this board is my employer)
- Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) has no African-Americans or Latinos on their board as far as I’m aware (MPP does not publish this information on their website, as far as I can tell)
- Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) boasts three African-American men on their board of directors
- Americans for Safe Access (to medical marijuana, or ASA) has no African-Americans or Latinos on their board
- Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) has one African-American on their board
This sort of racial homogeneity is also found at the grassroots activist level as well. I coordinate NORML’s 95 active state, local, and college chapters and off the top of my head I can think of only one chapter not run by a white person (Oregon NORML‘s Madeline Martinez, who, coincidentally, is that sole Latina on the National NORML Board).
When I speak at conferences and festivals to crowds ranging from 50 to 50,000, it is always a nearly unbroken sea of white faces looking back at me. When I participate in the marches and protests against the drug war, I rarely see black or Latino people carrying a sign.
The War on Drugs is primarily a War on Marijuana, which makes up 49.8% of all drug war arrests, 89% of those arrests for simple possession. In New York City, a black man is nine times more likely to be busted for pot than a white man and three times more likely to get a custodial sentence out of that arrest. Yet when we look at the cannabis community, the only place we find many African-American faces is in rap videos extolling the virtues of “the chronic”.
Where is the Martin Luther King Jr. of the movement to end the War on Drugs? Why is he or she not responding to the efforts to end the single greatest cause of racial inequality in this nation?
Is he or she dissuaded by the culture of the black church, which demonizes drugs and drug use to the point where those who support sensible drug policies are shamed into silence?
Is he or she turned away by looking at the leadership of drug law reform and seeing no faces like theirs?
Is he or she already feeling like they wear a target for law enforcement on their back already based on skin color and don’t feel like exacerbating that by publicly standing for drug law reform?
Whatever it is, this white man who’s used cannabis for twenty years and never once had an interaction with police is urgently calling out to my black and Latino brothers and sisters to get involved with your own liberation!
Wow those are amazing stats. I had no idea that there are more blacks in prison today then were enslaved in 1850. All the United States is a penal colony for the world.
I’m sure the influence of religion has a lot to do with this disparity in the reform movement, yes. The issue of “drugs” also carries deep negative connotations in urban America, where substance use of any sort is typically portrayed as anathema to community cohesion and family unity. Thus there is likely some cultural resistance to reform attitudes which is not found among suburbanites.
Also though, perhaps it makes sense that the people most harmed by prohibition are the least willing to speak out against it. If you’ve been convicted of a drug crime — or if your father or uncle or friend has — you have first-hand knowledge of the corruption and prejudice involved with drug enforcement. I’d imagine this might push people away from the issue as a whole — that remaining quiet would be seen as “safer” than speaking out.
It will be interesting to see if Mr. Obama’s attitude toward the War on “Drugs” shifts with this new information.
Right On!
Here’s a link to the book for less than $999 dollars.
http://www.thenewpress.com/index.php?option=com_title&task=view_title&metaproductid=1617
This article showed me an entire side of the drug war that i have never even thought of before. Some of these facts are mind boggling and i completely agree with Russ about how more african Americans and Latinos should become more involved with the movement of reforming marijuana laws. I think it is also the responsibility of NORML to reach out to icons in the urban culture to offer them high ranking positions amongst the NORML ranks. Rapper/Businessman Sean Carter a.k.a. Jay-Z, is the perfect urban icon to represent the African American culture in this struggle. Just last week TMZ had photos all over their website of Jay and his wife visiting President Obama at the White House. He also has long lasting ties with the Mayor of New York. A business mogul of such statue already has the mass public at his fingers willing to do anything he says and with the right people behind Jay, and Jay behind NORML, just imagine the possibilities.
I usually have your back, however I am not willing to endorse any policy, ideology etc based on race. Yeah, there’s a lot of unfairness out there, I’m not denying that.
I believe the race argument (in terms of getting marijuana legalized) is a loser. It’s the Obama-Gay conundrum all over again: who are you going to convince with an article like this? Okay, nobody– because everyone reading it already agrees with you– but assume you wanted to take this case to a broader sample of the population. Who cares about race & racial equality? Liberals. Who already supports drug reform? Liberals.
Moderates, unless they ARE minorities, don’t care. It’s a sad fact, but it’s true: the average American pot smoker is suburban and white. They’re more disturbed by the stiletto stoner argument that their children will have a criminal record if we keep pot illegal than that blacks and mexicans make up most of those arrested for marijuana. Hard truth, I know, but it’s true.
It’s not your job to change their minds there– there are OTHER groups devoted to racial sensitivity and racial tolerance.
I want to reiterate that I’m not condoning racial discrimination. I’m merely talking about your use of it (the issue) & the wisdom/folly of that strategy.
Your own numbers don’t make sense: nothing you’ve said about more blacks suffering mentions the fact that the population as a whole was **MUCH** smaller in 1850. By the same token you could use populations of left handed people and isolate that number to show how left handedness has “exploded” over the last 160 years… it’s the same bad science that we go after our enemies for. Don’t be guilty of it, no matter how much you want to make racial sympathy a factor.
[Russ responds: Well, then, I guess it was much ado over nothing. You’re right, the population of 1850 in America was 23,191,876 persons, with 3,204,313 of those being slaves. Today the population is over 300 million, with over 3.2 million of those being African-Americans under correctional supervision. Hooray, let’s pat ourselves on the back; in 1850 one in 7.25 people were slaves and in 2010 only one in 100 are black folks under correctional supervision.
But thank you for confirming my suspicions that conservatives and moderates don’t care about racial injustice. (Unless some of you conservatives and moderates would like to chime in…)]
Excellent! I like this angle. We need to keep finding new avenues to get my people pushing for legalization.
Keep up the good work NORML!
… to get “more” people pushing for legalization…
Wow… this is truly sad. I hate our government and the people that run it. I hope that in the future my children don’t have to live in a society where they have to fear for their safety because they want to partake in consuming a natural flowering herb.
no shit. stop posting such obvious shit. these types of articles would have been great 2 years ago.
how about something new? or at least daily updates.
[Russ responds: I tried writing about Michelle Alexander’s book two years ago, but she hadn’t written it yet.
If you’d like daily updates, may I suggest you visit The NORML Stash Blog, where we cover 3-5 new stories daily. It is our community outreach site and hosts many more posts, videos, and comments than does this official National site.]
The Drug war has always been a war fought against minorities and the youth of this country. What better way to fight those that one day would vote against a socially conservative agenda than putting them all in jail and permanantly labeling them as criminals. Good article.
I couldn’t agree more with the oppressive nature of the war on drugs. Not only is it minorities though, it is also young people who are very likely to get screwed for a drug crime. Whether it is in fact an intentional form of oppression by the people in Washington or just the result of profiling and prejudice by law enforcement I do not know. Either or though it’s still bullshit.
Nice job on the article Russ, I wasn’t a big fan of the Michelle Alexander excerpt though. It portrays those loose associations as black-and-white facts about the War On Drugs. I understand the point she’s trying to make and her arguments make sense, they just seem weakly-supported and quick to judge.
[Russ responds: I am limited by copyright on how much I can excerpt for a post here. I assure you Michelle Alexander’s thesis is incredibly well supported, and jibes with the research on racial injustice I have reported on from Dr. Harry Levine of Queen College]
I agree with everything you stated. I live near the Mexican border where the drug war is really escalating to a panic. My city is supposed to be one of the largest import/exporters of marijuana in the whole country. Most of the population is latino, which makes every arrest almost a race-based issue. It is really sad to say the least, that my community is being taken away under the shadows because of police and their mis-guided efforts. We need to reform our drug laws, or my culture will die.
i cannot help but think this is also the main reason our President Obama will not be the president we whites voted for. he’s to afraid of the race issue to speak out, even though the majority has spoken overwhelmingly in support of change, and medical marijuana, and complete legalization, and “we” voted for him to end the nazification of america with all the drug nazi’s who follow their own agenda’s. instead of ending the drug war, our government is getting ready to increase funding for prosecutions and imprisonments, with more prisons and more drug nazi’s
White people can get arrested for the same things and put in the same position. Minority’s may get some shit here and there but today in America minorities get to much help IMO. In my town (toledo, Ohio) the local college (university of toledo, Medical/law ect.) you get it at about half price if your NOT a “white male”. which is BULL…. if u want fairness thats fine… if u dont want fair thats fine to but dont ask for it then….. more to my point. we should keep race out of NORML discussions IMO…. nothing that was said bothers or offends me but AS SOON as u say anything that has to do with race some people are instantly ready to be offended. – LEGALIZE
[Russ responds: Your points on affirmative action policies are neither here nor there. To discuss the War on Drugs and not address the issue of race is to ignore the elephant in the room. From the original Hearst/Anslinger rhetoric about the “sex crazed Negroes / degenerate Spanish races” of the 1920s-30s to the 100-to-1 crack/powder cocaine sentencing disparity and 9x greater arrest statistics of blacks in New York City today, race is at the foundation of much of this obscene Drug War.
If that offends people… it should.]
Please read the article you wrote for a better understanding of why blacks may not be involved in the movement as much as their white counterpart is. Blacks are very stigmatized in society, especially when they are associated with drugs. You must understand that blacks are extremely scrutinized in society and they HAVE to be so much more cautious in whatever they do.
Quote “It will be interesting to see if Mr. Obama’s attitude toward the War on “Drugs” shifts with this new information.”
No, I doubt it. The man is a huge disappointment. He avoids the drug war like the plague. He also ignores the real problems with health care instead of attacking the Insurance companies, medical supply companies and drug companies. More taxes? they already take 1/3 of my pay check for a job that won’t probably be in this country in a couple years.
He’s just as much a turd as previous presidents. At least he recognizes state laws tho, but that should be without question anyway in my opinion.
http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-418436
I have posted an Open Letter To Our Smokin’ President.
Read it. Share it on Facebook, Twitter, anywhere it will be noticed.
AJ King,
Try to keep in mind that white and blacks do not get arrested for the same things. Many of the times whites get a warning whereas their black counterpart might be put into jail. Also, many minorities who go to prison are poor and cannot afford a lawyer to get them out of prison in contrast to their middle-class white counterpart. Minorities often have to depend on public defenders who often tell them to just plea guilty for a lesser sentence.
And have you considered that the college may have put it at half price because many blacks have trouble affording college? Yes, whites have trouble too but there are so many minorities out there who can’t afford college because they have to help their parent(s) out with bills and have to pay their own way into college. Whites do this too but MOST have their parents to support them instead of them supporting themselves.
This does not apply only to when we were in recession or right now. It’s been like this for ages.
Correlation and fact that higher police activities occur where non-whites live.
It is amazing that there are no more blacks involved in the movement,until you consider that if they were to go to a protest rally,who do you think would go to jail?
A white with a joint hanging in his mouth would be safer than the black man with nothing illegal in his possession.
It amazes me,and is starting too discourage the black community that Obama has not moved Jim Webb’s committee on our unfair judicial system on the fast track.
i personally think it MAY be possible that if u break drug laws on ur front po-ch, Vs inside ur home u could have about a 9X greater chance of being arrested
Why would any Black or Brown person put their neck on the line when faced with such discrimination. Exercising any sort of civil disobedience when the “drug war” is aimed @ you is just silly when it comes down to practicality. This differs from civil rights in that separate by equal laws don’t hold water. But “focusing” the fight of illegal drugs on certain neighborhoods can always be a scapegoat to the race issue. Blacks & Browns would love to join whites in this fight, but in a war that has used & abused us so dispurportionately (sp) you can not blame us for not being so eager to run into the fight.
I have said many times on this comment section that anyone that supports prohibition is a racist! Your statistics prove as much. The republican party and many of the people in Washington are very racist. It is why they support prohibition. Many people in law enforcement are racists as are the judges try these cases. How else do you explain the drastic difference in incarceration rates. Only poor people of color go to jail in America! The rich seldom do. The police are not looking for drug offenders in the suburbs are they. They patrol the projects. I find it extremely surprising that our first president of color ignores the fact that the war on drugs is a war on people of color.
The African American population is not afraid to speak out against issues. In fact they are very loud and disruptive about anything to do with police discrimination (remember the oakland BART shooting). Russ, instead of writing an article wondering why blacks haven’t supported NORML and other MJ reform groups, perhaps we should be asking why NORML hasnt done more to recruit black supporters. I would guess that an increase in black participation might lead to a significant increase in energy levels for the movement. What better way to show that NORML stands for the rights of the people than to have a representative sampling of the diverse population? The question then becomes, does NORML have an unspoken belief that being supported by people from the ghetto would actually harm it’s cause rather than help?
One more thing about this subject. Senator Webb brought this issue to light and is trying very hard to get the rest of the country to listen and learn the facts about our drug policies and their effect on our society. We should all call or write to him and thank him for his efforts.
Thanks Russ. Many of us knew this but there may be those that dont, they arethe ones that this article should impact the most and maybe get people on thier feet stomping mad enough to speak out. We the people will win this. Then on to the next batch of unjust things our government does. Freedom is not negotiable!
The war on drugs seems to be nothing more than repackaged slavery, much like intelligent design is repackaged creationism. And it seems to be perpretrated and continued by WASP males. I’m never voting for another wasp male again, they are nothing but trouble!
Russ get at Sean Carter please.
Never again?
In the previous blog i seen the USAtoday news link and clicked on it an it showed the map of our good’ol Country i put the curser ovr Iowa an it said: Pending Medical,Taxation,an Decriminalization if this shit is true how come (they) our state reps are being silent about it? Just wondering!
[Paul Armentano responds: Iowa had a bill to legalize medical marijuana pending in the House earlier this year. The bill has been tabled while lawmakers study the measure. See the full story here: http://capwiz.com/norml2/issues/alert/?alertid=14725406.%5D
MPP and Norml does have a latino who donates…me!!! 😉
I found something interesting when I lived in CA and was a medical patient. 90% of dispensaries I visited (2004-2006 when there were few) were pushed into low income/people of color areas. They were always in unincorporated, industrial or latino areas. It seemed like a subtle racism, “we dont want all those “weird” people here…but its ok in the weird area where the weird people live”…It was never said, but Hmmmm….
Race is but one column that supports the War on Cannabis. A Dr. MLK Jr. platform will only go so far with reform by taking down the Jim Crow-like policies (not to mention a good chunk of Anslinger’s propaganda.) If the MLK platform is successful in severing racial ties from the drug war, the corporate giants (i.e. Big Pharma and the Textile/Paper Industries) will smother any chance of Cannabis reform with a fresh, new set of propaganda (which they are currently doing, quite well.) It’s not only about race; it’s about corporate giants losing money. Any serious Cannabis platform must topple all the columns supporting the drug war, not just one.
Post Script,
Picketing/campaigning for Cannabis reform should be done outside of corporate buildings (see above), not Capitol Hill. After all, corporations are the ones who purchase elected officials, contrary to the belief that the voting system in this country still exists. Money talks… politicians listen.
Evidently the lack of involvement in procannabis movements by AfricanAmericans or Latinos can only be addressed by their own spokespersons.
Good article Russ, I guess the next thing for you to do would be to contact Reverend’s Jackson, Wright, and Sharpton to find out exactly what their thoughts, and those they represent in their communities are on this subject, we’ll be waiting to read what they have to say. Hopefully we’ll see the Reverends, and more African Americans in some of our marches for legalized marijuana legislation in the future. Legalize it, don’t critize it, its good for asthma, its good for the flu, its for glaucoma, judges smoke it, police officers smoke it, lawyers smoke it, hopefully Reverends to.
I noticed this as well Russ, and when there was a march in my city by black leadership groups regarding gaining equality, I contacted the organizers and told them to get in contact with the DPA, since African Americans are the most disenfranchised groups affected by prohibition (although I feel their pain, having felony convictions myself). So I have tried reaching out to local NAACP and other black equality groups to get them to join forces since we are fighting for the same thing essentially, hopefully the work will pay off. I think there should be really large pro-freedom events held by both the racial equality groups and the drug policy reform movement, and it should be a joint effort by both groups. We will spread both messages to such a larger audience. And from the responses I’ve received, they’re very receptive to the message. I just don’t think anyone’s tried before.
This article and the following comments just makes me want to vomit.. The War on Drugs isn’t about Color. Get over it, it’s about drugs. I am white and have been arrested multiple times for marijuana since doing a 3-15 year sentence for a half ounce of mushrooms. Nothing aggravated me more in prison than listening to an ignorant black man sitting on the bunk next to me complaining that the white man (judge) put him there. I had to remind him that a white judge put me there also. Most annoying is that the guy was locked up for Robbery. I was there for giving my friend a ride to the gas station to pick up a bag of mushrooms for his landlord. (an informant working for the police to reduce his own non-related drug charges.) So please stop with all the racism already. Slavery ended long before my time and we have a black president who uses drugs.
[Editor’s note: While your experience with the criminal justice system is unfortunate, your assertion that the war on drugs is not largely a war on minorities is ignorant. In the US, there is nearly a 3.5:1 ratio of blacks arrested to whites for cannabis, even though black citizens use cannabis less according to the government data. In ‘liberal’ New York City, the ratio of minorities arrested for cannabis to white citizens is almost 9:1.
The war on some drugs is most certainly a war on minorities.]
Hey in response to my response,…lol I knew Iowa had the medical going on but what I’m saying is once the cursor was over Iowa it said medical pending regulation,taxation and my question was are they stewing something up that we don’t know about? Or were they just talking medical taxation,regulation,decriminalization,or is it just about medical and medical only?
this isn’t good enough this “war” needs to end now.
we are the american people if we say no more as load as we can the govt. will have no choice but to listen.
there is one thing that has worked time and time again to fix unjust laws and that is protest. if we pot smokers and those who support organized a huge nationwide protest , i mean every one of us just 1 day at a set time across the nation walk out of our jobs and march down to our local court house and demand that the war ends they will have no choice but to listen, think about it statistics show now that over 40% of americans support legalization if we all got up walked off our jobs and said no more we could shut this country down for a day so they know we wont take it anymore. if they don’t listen to us then we plan another one. and to anyone who’s afraid of retribution from our beloved country just remember freedoms we enjoy today was paid for in blood by those who came before us.
with over 40% of americans supporting legalization.
the time is now for this. will some of us be arrested or beat most likely. but i ask is not your childerns freedom worth it. i know my childs future is worth it.
the time for freedom is now. and if we want it we must fight for it.
something has to be done about BIG PHARMA’S uncontested markups of their drugs to the tune of 550,000%.Not even the mafia charges that much vigorish.
I agree with Mike #26. No black or latino in his or her right mind is going to make themselves a target at a pot rally where most people are whites.
When I read the most recent posting on Jim Crow Era Drug laws I was not shocked. I was also not shocked to find the gap between white and minority activist support for cannabis. I’m from Maryland, Baltimore to be exact and it is one of the cities with one of the highest black urban populations as well as one of the highest for the arrest of these same urbanites for non violent drug offences.
I am of mixed-African-American descent and even here I see the statistics posted on the site true. I am also young of age, just turned 21 this year and am disgusted and appalled by the lack of my generations input on this. Well, half of me is appalled, ha. I, unlike many have decided a different path to happiness and success.
That’s cannabis. I went to Mass Cann last year and even asked.. um Radical Russ? Ross? What he thought of grassmovements in coffeeshops. Of any age. He had no answer. He kinda stuttered and said, “yeah we’ll think about it”. But it’s my dream to own my own cannabis dispensary pub. A dream I know I’ll be able to make come true if I show my support as millions have done already.
I want a response, dammit!
“But thank you for confirming my suspicions that conservatives and moderates don’t care about racial injustice. (Unless some of you conservatives and moderates would like to chime in…)”
Uhhh, yeah right here. You don’t have to be a jerk about it — intelligent, well-meaning people can have divergent ideas about the best approach toward equality. This can include questioning, from a pragmatic standpoint, traditional legislative attempts at instituting racial equality.
We’re all here reading your piece — you don’t need to call us bigots for discussing your ideas.
I’m a black female and I am trying to break into the MM Dispensary business. I know don’t know of any black owned MM Dispensaries but please correct me if I’m wrong. I would love to be a part of NORML, MMP or ASA to support them and hopefully they can support me in my endeavor.
My father is a (black) corrections officer, smokes herb on a daily basis, and tells me all the time when refering to himself and other COs and POs “We’re pigs, we’re paid to enforce the law, not follow it.” Now, if that doesn’t say everything about americas “protectors” than what does? most of them are very very racist and my father as an insider tells me about all kinds of statistics and underground things about cops and their racism. It’s sick, and we all need to stand up to the government and protest this police brutality and racial profiling.
Once again latinos get a free ride for nothing from another angle of the civil rights movement. Remember, the real problem created by the Drug War is the movement of money into the hands of organized crime. Black communities suffer not just because they suffer more from police enforcement, they also suffer because much needed cash is constantly flowing out of the hands of African Americans into the hands of organized crime.
But who are the gangsters who profit the most from the Drug War? They are not only “latino” gangsters, but they are, in the end, gangsters who are not even citizens and not even in the US. Money flows out of the black communities into South and Central America.
If latinos suffer more from incarceration, how much of that is for drug trafficking rather than simple possession? And how many of these are either not citizens or descended from parents or grandparents who were not citizens either? African Americans were forced to come to this country against their will. Latinos are sneaking in against the law.
Even if cannabis is completely legalized, we will still be policing the illegal traffic of drugs and people from South and Central America and this is the way it should be. Until we can control our borders and completely seal off the flow of illegal immigrants and drug trafficking, we have little cause to fret over the high arrest rate for latinos.
1. A thing or two about Maryland and DC: they are both located, of course, within a stone’s throw of tobackgo fields– VA, NC etc.. The tobackgo industry (based on hot burning overdose $igarettes) exercises a regional domination over US Federal law and administration that residents of other parts of the country seem unaware of (except knowing it exposes the tender liberal ego to shame at having done so little about it). Anyway, think how much $igarette addiction would survive if the National Government were transferred to Salt Lake City.
2. As one-toke skunk increasingly teaches cannabis users to desert the hot burning overdose joint, spliff, blunt etc. in favor of longtube one-hitters, vaporizers etc., the War Against Cannabis is one of the remaining protections Big 2WackGo depends on. Only by keeping cannabis users terrorized, closeted, isolated (with the help of its cop the US govt.) can it keep its addicts from learning how to use low-dosage vaporizer, one-hitters, e-cigarette etc., thus exterminating the 150-year reign of the ca$h cow 700-mg. paperstick.
3. That 9-to-1 crackdown on blacks in NY dates from the Giuliani years, and wouldn’t you know, in 2008 Giuliani was receiving far more tobackgo campaign money than any other candidate in the presidential race (Obama took some, but comparatively little). Well, Republican Giuliani and his kind provide the cop authorization to stop, search, arrest, investigate cannabis suspects and, once a felony conviction is fished out, another probably Democratic voter is annulled from the rolls. This may have made The Difference in 2000. Since the days of Helms, Reagan, Sinatra etc. the Republican Party has averaged 2/3 of all campaign donations from Big 2WackGo.
4. Slavery = Slavery: consider that a Mormon with a doctorate is less than 10% likely to be a $igarette addict but a high school dropout over 30%. Whatever skincolor, a low-wage worker with a pack-a-day habit may be giving up over 10% of the family budget at a “convenience store”– a Regressive Tax. Curiously the tobackgo companies pose as defenders of the poor against this tax of which they with their $$bils. ad budget are the author.
5. Not only Blacks have reason to fear the wrath of the enemy. In the 1980’s a white man named Mandrake in Chicago began to attack $igarette billboards that were positioned to propagandize low income neighborhoods. It was widely reported that Rev. Michael Pfleger of St. Sabina Parish joined in on these expeditions and, after they were arrested, appeared in court with Mandrake on charges of maliciously harming the property of some Outdoor Advertising corporation. Mandrake disappeared and his body was found in a river. Rev. Pfleger provided a funeral at St. Sabina Parish. I have read somewhere that it is contrary to Catholic law to provide a funeral to those who have committed suicide, so I think you can assume Rev. Pfleger, were he asked, would say he did NOT consider the death of Mandrake a suicide. “If they are willing to coolly casually kill 6 million a year of their own devoted patrons using the product as pictured in the advertising, what will they do should they succeed in tracking down a true enemy?” Meanwhile the “gentler” side of their conspiracy is… cannabis prohibition!
I can answer that one from the African American standpoint.
We as a people have been broken. The very thing that you have written about is the self-same cause of our failure to be involved. After the Civil Rights Movement, those in power decided that they did not want a repeat. Look up the article which discussed Freeway Ricky Ross and how the US Government supported the use of drugs in the black community as a means to destabilize potential activist groups (i.e. Black Panther Party for Self-Defense). Add to that the glorification of thug culture and ignorance that has been ingrained into our communities by the MsM, and you see the result.
Our young people are too ignorant and selfish to care about things like civil rights, and our adults are too browbeaten to even consider anything other than trying to keep their heads down and survive.
[But thank you for confirming my suspicions that conservatives and moderates don’t care about racial injustice. (Unless some of you conservatives and moderates would like to chime in…)]
Dear Russ, I think you are confusing neo-conservatives with real Constitutional conservatives. Don’t let the “teabaggers” fool you either, they are neo-cons in disguise. Say what you will about the ‘liberty-movement’ not being viable, but watch how we transform the GOP in the next 2 election cycles. I hope you give us a chance by then.
I feel that one aspect of the War on Drugs’ discrimination of minorities was not addressed by the article. It’s been my experience that marijuana dealers in urban, primarily minority, settings are much more likely to be involved with hard drugs, in addition to marijuana, than their counterparts in the white suburban environment. This could account for some of the increased police interest and the resulting increased arrest rates.
This, however, is why legalization is such a great solution. By regulating the sale of marijuana in a safe, controlled marketplace you effectively remove shady drug dealers from the equation and remove a key source of income for gangs and organized crime, thus reducing their influence in crime plagued communities. People of every race and social status will benefit from legalization but it will have the greatest positive impact on poor minority communities.
Strong Words! That is eye-opening! Peace and Love to all and let’s get this changed so we can move forward as a unit. We as human beings need to step up and realize the realities that are at work here. We have to power to change it all, but we must work together to get to that goal. Talk to at least 3 people a day about it. Bring up somehtin you read on NORML.com or in an e-mail. Hell maybe even your local news, but bring it up with whomever, get people thinking about and let them know they have the power. Myabe next time you have a “session” with some friends, bring up topics, find things that you can help aquire the goal. All I can say is Truth will Prevail!
Guy sentenced to 35 years in Smith County for procession of 4.6 ounces of pot is extreme!
http://dallasmorningviewsblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2010/03/public-school-s-1.html
This is important information, which I also just saw on Democracy Now. However, I dislike the implication of this article that black Americans are to blame for not ‘liberating’ themselves. Why hasn’t the author reached out to communities of color more? The marijuana legalization crowd (of which I’m a part) consists of privileged folks who don’t have the cops to fear. My slogan has long been that marijuana prohibition is the last remaining Jim Crow law (so I disagree with Alexander that such laws are a thing of the past). I’m shocked, though not surprised, to see so many posts on this board of the “This is eye-opening info” sort.
I think this should be the legalization campaign’s angle, as opposed to revenue raising–which latter concern is morally irrelevant. Why is the Times Square ad on making money, rather than erasing Jim Crow??
[Editor’s note: The author grew up in Idaho…where there historically has been very few minorities. In the time spent in Portland, Russ and OR NORML do reach out and avail themselves to minorities to get more involved in their own liberation. The challenge of better minority and female representation remains a challenge for NORML and all drug policy reform groups.
The Times Square ad buy from NORML consists of a swap out around April 20th, and there is a good chance the second ad will partially address the prolific racial disparity in New York City’s annual dragnet of cannabis consumers.]
we need to levitate the dea.
A couple of years ago I thought, “when the financial crisis hits the states and they have to decide whether to close schools and layoff firefighters or rethink the war on drugs, surely we will have reform”. Sadly enough they are actually closing schools. And the latest news stories about sex offenders who get out of prison early to re-offend is disgusting in light of all the non-violent offenders in prison. I also used to think “oh well, marijuana might not be legalized but I can still smoke every day so whatever”, but that seems like an insensitive attitude to have while Jim Crow is still in effect.
I think it would be helpful to put up a website called “endjimcrow.com” (sorry I can’t stand it up, I can not have the personal scrutiny) with all the relevant facts so that anytime a student, teacher or other person searches in the internet for Jim Crow material they will run across this site and learn about the current situation.
Mike Says:
”
i personally think it MAY be possible that if u break drug laws on ur front po-ch, Vs inside ur home u could have about a 9X greater chance of being arrested
”
True, but more to the point on the current situation:
If you live in an inner city neighborhood where the police cruise by regularly, (black/latino) your odds of being arrested go up.
I (whitey), on the other hand, live in a house on 3/4 of an acre and smoke on my front porch regularly without worry.
Thanks for the response to my previous post. I’m happy to hear that NORML’s second ad might emphasize the racial disparity in enforcement. I do support NORML (politically and financially), and I want it to be the best organization that it can be.
Lots of Americans crave a moral discussion of politics and society, as the right-wing has long known. Morality matters, and I have faith that plain-spoken middle class folk will respond to these moral considerations (as they did in the 1960s push to cut out much Jim Crow). At the very least, adding moral discourse to the cause with help to undermine any perception that regulation advocates are merely tax-and-spend liberals who just want to get high.
Keep up the good work, NORM–and let’s see whether minority groups join the cause. Again, my guess is that taking the Jim Crow angle will assist with such recruitment.
Please go to this site and answer the following poll. We are fighting for our local law enforcment to stop prosecuting MMJ patients and to allow safe access to their medicine. Thank you
Should San Bernardino County and local cities allow medical marijuana dispensaries?
http://www.vvdailypress.com/
There are two reasons behind this:
1. Urban youths (largely minority) spend far more time in public spaces as compared to suburban (mostly white) youths who spend far more of their time in private spaces. This makes it much easier to catch minority youths for drug offenses.
2. If the war on drugs was fought the same way in suburban neighborhoods there would be no one left to support the war on drugs.
I too am astounded how many people seem surprised by this, but, I suppose I am in the business. (Criminal defense, not drug dealing….)
I would also like to point at, as the moderator did, that the first drug prohibition laws were enacted for specifically racist purposes. Marijuana was explicitly banned as a means of cracking down on Mexican migrant workers before the habit of smoking it passed into the rest of American culture. A major argument for banning cocaine was that it was responsible for black men raping white women.
And did anyone really think that the timing of the war on drugs relative to Jim Crow is a coincidence? The laws against drugs started as a means to jail minorities for using drugs other than those which the majority also used, and the war on drugs has picked up as a counter-reaction to the civil rights movement.
But the genius of the idea is that no one has to say so, it just appeals to the same constituency in a way that makes it feel like it is standing up for law and order, and not being racist.
Why is everybody so hung up on Black and Latino people? Give it a rest! What about us Native Americans. Affirmitive Action failed my people. All other races go on and prosper, we are left for dead. How many of us are on any board of anything. We can’t even get roles on T.V.. You are all racist, especially the other minorities. You all have it so bad, Boo Hoo. Live on a reservation for a while. All minorities need to grow up and get over it. As far as I’m concerned you are all illeagal since 1492.
I just watched the movie AKA Tommy Chong, and in the movie he states that “thanks” to his prison experience he is now an activist and no longer simply a comedian and actor. I suspect we’ll be hearing much more from Cheech and Chong, both of who are minorities.
This article just shows how the Drug War hurts society in so many different ways than most people commonly believe.
Most people just believe that the drug war is wasteful and bureaucratic. It is a crime itself and is costing our Nations billions, if not trillions of dollars and millions of innocent lives.
QUICK QUESTION
What should we do if we voted for obama thinking that perhaps he would do something constructive with our war on drugs (like getting rid of it). was it just wishful thinking on our parts did he mention his stance on cannabis prior to election. should we vote for him again if he runs again ???
btw i dont think he is doing a bad job, he seems to be doing the best he can considering the circumstances
There are 2 main problems. As much as Whites seem to be concerned with the Black community, I rarely see them reaching out to the Black Community as a whole. Chris Rock said, “I got ,a lot of white friends…., but they only have 1 Black friend”. If Black people saw more genuine interaction and concern of their “race” with other culturea, maybe they would be more willing to join the fight. For the most part, it seems that other communities are AFRAID of the Black community, except fot the few “token” Blacks that reach out to them. Yep, that’s what I think it is.
Point #2. We HAVE MLK’s but they are not validated by the mainstream on any level. For instance, Minister Louis Farrakhan doesn’t support Cannanbis but he supports Black Leadership among youth and being an activist in general. He organized The Million Man March, which I went to. It immediately got blasted by the Media and it still has been THE MOST INCREDIBLE, PEACEFUL, BEAUTIFUL EXPERIENCE of my life. We as positive (Black Men) are still not recognized. Unless we promote a leader who advocates what makes Blacks and Whites comfortable then we won’t have another MLK (whom they assassinated). Maybe the Black Community needs someone who may not make both cultures comfortable but gets the job done. May not be Farrakhan but whomever does emerge, keep this comment in mind. MUCH LUV
Since 2008 a record number of Black people are now registered voters, I would have thought there would be more Blacks doing jury duty. That’s not the case. Then up to 80% of Blacks are felons and can’t vote. How did he get to be presidents if most Blacks can’t vote?
The only way he got to be president was because 97% of all Blacks voted for him. But up to 80% of Blacks can’t vote because of a felony. He also got 98% of the arab and mexican vote. Most Mexicans are felons too. Then he also got a large percentage of young white people to vote for him.
It doesn’t add up. People that are not allowed to vote, like illegals and felones some how got to vote.
We need a recount, and kick him out, before more oil washes up on the Gulf Coast.