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RainDog
RainDog's Journal
RainDog's Journal
June 5, 2013
ACLU Report: The War on Marijuana in Black and White
posting as an OP in this forum for reference
http://www.aclu.org/billions-dollars-wasted-racially-biased-arrests
OVER-POLICING
Between 2001 and 2010, there were over 8 million pot arrests in the U.S. That’s one bust every 37 seconds and hundreds of thousands ensnared in the criminal justice system.
WASTED TIME AND MONEY
Enforcing marijuana laws costs us about $3.6 billion a year, yet the War on Marijuana has failed to diminish the use or availability of marijuana.
STAGGERING RACIAL BIAS
Marijuana use is roughly equal among Blacks and whites, yet Blacks are 3.73 times as likely to be arrested for marijuana possession.
June 4, 2013
http://www.aclu.org/prisoners-rights/private-prisons
We fought a war in this nation to stop this shit, yet it returns, in different iterations, generation after generation.
Thank you, Ronald Reagan and your fellating conservative acolytes, for your dedication, over decades, to promoting slavery by another name. The irony, of course, is this that they constantly pretend they are promoting freedom.
What about it, Congress?
Are you going to continue this repulsive slide into neo-Confederate racism as YOUR LEGACY, or are you going to address the way in which the laws you have created have been nothing more than a cover for the most disgusting legacy of government since this nation was founded?
You'd think that, maybe after more than two hundred years, you might get this one right.
But you'd have to assume Congress is something other than the bought and sold peons for big business... and they continually prove the majority of them are nothing but.
ACLU: Racism of the Drug War Verified
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2013/06/marijuana_and_race_aclu_finds.htmlBlacks are nearly four times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than whites – even though usage rates are comparable, according to a report issued today by the American Civil Liberties Union.
Marijuana enforcement has unfairly targeted black people, said the report, entitled “The War on Marijuana in Black and White.”
The racial disparity in marijuana arrests has markedly increased in the last 10 years, the ACLU found. Although black people are 3.7 times more likely to be arrested for possession than white people, blacks are now 30 times more likely to to be arrested for the drug in the counties with the widest disparities, they found.
The ACLU also analyzed the wider law enforcement handling of current marijuana laws. States spent an estimated $3.61 billion enforcing marijuana possession laws – in 2010 alone.
Marijuana enforcement has unfairly targeted black people, said the report, entitled “The War on Marijuana in Black and White.”
The racial disparity in marijuana arrests has markedly increased in the last 10 years, the ACLU found. Although black people are 3.7 times more likely to be arrested for possession than white people, blacks are now 30 times more likely to to be arrested for the drug in the counties with the widest disparities, they found.
The ACLU also analyzed the wider law enforcement handling of current marijuana laws. States spent an estimated $3.61 billion enforcing marijuana possession laws – in 2010 alone.
http://www.aclu.org/prisoners-rights/private-prisons
The current incarceration rate deprives record numbers of individuals of their liberty, disproportionately affects people of color, and has at best a minimal effect on public safety. Meanwhile, the crippling cost of imprisoning increasing numbers of Americans saddles government budgets with rising debt and exacerbates the current fiscal crisis confronting states across the nation.
Private prison companies, however, essentially admit that their business model depends on locking up more and more people. For example, in a 2010 Annual Report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) stated: “The demand for our facilities and services could be adversely affected by . . . leniency in conviction or parole standards and sentencing practices . . . .” As incarceration rates skyrocket, the private prison industry expands at exponential rates, holding ever more people in its prisons and jails, and generating massive profits.
Private prison companies, however, essentially admit that their business model depends on locking up more and more people. For example, in a 2010 Annual Report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) stated: “The demand for our facilities and services could be adversely affected by . . . leniency in conviction or parole standards and sentencing practices . . . .” As incarceration rates skyrocket, the private prison industry expands at exponential rates, holding ever more people in its prisons and jails, and generating massive profits.
We fought a war in this nation to stop this shit, yet it returns, in different iterations, generation after generation.
Thank you, Ronald Reagan and your fellating conservative acolytes, for your dedication, over decades, to promoting slavery by another name. The irony, of course, is this that they constantly pretend they are promoting freedom.
What about it, Congress?
Are you going to continue this repulsive slide into neo-Confederate racism as YOUR LEGACY, or are you going to address the way in which the laws you have created have been nothing more than a cover for the most disgusting legacy of government since this nation was founded?
You'd think that, maybe after more than two hundred years, you might get this one right.
But you'd have to assume Congress is something other than the bought and sold peons for big business... and they continually prove the majority of them are nothing but.
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