What the is that "people of color" thing
has to be mentioned here. If it's right, it
is right. Leave the skin color aside Mr. City
Attorney.
It’s mentioned because it’s relevant! Maybe the background here isn’t obvious, but marijuana convictions have been systemically used against people of color in a way they haven’t generally been used against others. So understanding the disproportionate impact here, of which acknowledging it as true is the first step of many, is part of making this right.
I think the conviction rates and arrest rates should be entered into evidence in this argument. Compare them with various other studies about marijuana usage and you'll find whites, blacks and Latinos use marijuana in pretty much the same rates.
And to be fair, a drug arrest if you're white is no cakewalk. You need a good lawyer and money, and even then you'll be doing a shit ton of community service.
I'd like to see more studies showing these types of arrest/convictions by income. I have a feeling being poor (and being stuck with a public defender) plays a bigger role in drug crimes. There are more poor minorities, but that's a bigger causality issue that's considerably more complex.
There's an enormous amount of evidence of racism in the criminal justice system. It's not at all controversial to say there are widespread patterns of racism.
Arguing the opposite puts one in the same league as climate change deniers - you're more concerned with what you want to believe than what the evidence supports.
