Back-Fire: How Getting Busted Made Me a Drug-Policy Activist
My experience, seeing the unfairness of the drug war laid bare before me, crystallized in my mind to form the nucleus of all my drug war efforts.
Topic
racism
71 articles
Racism Persists Even With Changing Attitudes About Cannabis
A shocking example of this comes in form of the arrest and subsequent abuse of business woman Kam Brock — a black woman who was pulled over while driving her BMW through Harlem.
Wordplay and Stigma: An Appeal Against the Word Marijuana
As a botanist myself, I always look for the proper names of things — especially plants. There is a reason for this, and any first year plant biology student will learn this.
Law & PoliticsLink
Report: Racial Disparities in Arrests Persist With Legal Pot
The legalization of marijuana in Colorado hasn't solved the racial disparities in enforcement that drug-policy reformers had hoped to end, with blacks still far more likely than whites to be charged with pot-related crimes, a new report says.
Restore Humanity: Remember Cannabis Users Are People Too
Langston draws some interesting lines between early American racial history and the characterization of drug users. Maybe that is how the government has justified the overblown, overreaching tactics to fight this failed drug war.
NYPD Begins Enforcing Less Severe Cannabis Policy
Last week New York City police shifted their policy of cannabis enforcement to one that is less harsh for those found in possession of cannabis.
Law & PoliticsLink
Ferguson and the Racist Drug War
Ferguson, Missouri has become a bedrock of racial tension since the shooting death of unarmed teenager, Michael Brown, by police officer Darren Wilson. In light of the recent events, it seemed appropriate to revisit prohibition’s racist roots and unpack ...
Where Does the Word 'Marijuana' Come From?
Many are unaware that before it was termed 'marijuana', most people in the U.S. referred to the plant as 'cannabis'. So where does the word 'marijuana' come from? Unfortunately this word has a complicated past tied with racism and xenophobia.
Pot Arrests Generate Bank for Law Enforcement, Have Racial Bias
Latino and Black people are over 3 times more likely to suffer harsh judicial consequences for cannabis possession than Caucasians, even though the rate of consumption is more or less the same.
Comedian Randy Credico's Deadly Serious Quest to Run New York
NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo faces the insurgent candidacy of comedian, satirist, political gadfly, and perennial candidate Randy Credico, who bills himself as "the most progressive candidate since FDR"
Law & PoliticsLink
The Federal Marijuana Ban Is Rooted in Myth and Xenophobia
The federal law that makes possession of marijuana a crime has its origins in legislation that was passed in an atmosphere of hysteria during the 1930s and that was firmly rooted in prejudices against Mexican immigrants and African-Americans...
New York Times: End Federal Marijuana Prohibition
What is arguably the most influential and respected newspaper in the United States is ready to free the weed. In a Sunday editorial, the New York Times called forthrightly for the end of federal marijuana prohibition.
Law & PoliticsLink
Seattle police: African-Americans and Homeless Ticketed Most for Pot
An analysis of the first six months of Seattle police enforcement under new marijuana laws finds homeless people and African-American males are more likely to be ticketed for public pot use than anyone else.
Hundreds of Low-Level Marijuana Offenses Could Be Thrown Out in Brooklyn
The Brooklyn District Attorney, Kenneth Thompson, has assembled a team that is reviewing hundreds of low-level marijuana offenses that the department could decline to prosecute, DNAinfo reports.
Brooklyn Eases Up on Pot Prosecutions
Brooklyn's District Attorney announced Tuesday that he will not prosecute first-time offenders arrested for low-level marijuana possession.
Filmmaker Eugene Jarecki Talks Drug Reform
In a conference call this morning, filmmaker Eugene Jarecki discussed the impact of his award-winning drug war documentary The House I Live In and where we go from here in the fight to end the drug war and mass incarceration.
Philadelphia: City of Brotherly Love and Rogue Cops
Things aren't as sunny in Philadelphia as they may seem. Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey spoke out to announce his intention to continue arresting people for cannabis, regardless of a veto-proof City Council vote.
Law & PoliticsLink
NYPD Arrests 80 People a Day for Low Level Weed Possession
According to a new report from the Marijuana Arrest Research Project, in the first four months of 2014, the NYPD made 80 low level weed possession arrests a day and the statistics have stayed the same as in 2013.