The NAACP clearly gets it.
“We are committed to changing policies that result in a disproportionate number of African-Americans and other people of color being introduced into the criminal justice system,” NAACP chapter president Rosemary Harris Lytle said, according to a media advisory.
We regularly hear about the vast, vast disparity of the numbers of blacks in the 'justice system' and people are right to complain and cry foul, but all too often they NEVER mention of the the huge, glaring reasons for this: the war on drugs, particularly marijuana. Lots of people don't want to factor this in for a variety of, well...dumb reasons, which we shall not go into now.
A bit more over the fleur-du-Kos
The group said that marijuana prohibition has dramatically affected African-American community in Colorado, where just 4 percent of the general population is black but 20 percent of the prison population is black. And in Denver, where marijuana is supposedly decriminalized, a recent police review found that African-Americans account for 31 percent of marijuana arrests, despite making up just 11 percent of the general population.
I am unsure how many times this has to be repeated to people - it's NOT news.
Marijuana prohibition - 85%+ of the so-called "war on Drugs" - was/is founded DIRECTLY on racism: I am not going to bother to post links to the history, a good Democrat or Liberal should know this forwards and backwards at this point in time.
The war on weed ENCOURAGES racism and 'profiling' and this is EXACTLY why Ramarley Graham is dead. Cops killed him because he had marijuana. No 'official' report to state that in official black and white for you, but the fact is he had weed, was black and cops smashed in the door to his home and gunned him down.
There's another perk for the state to relegalize and tax the Evil Weed (other than the sanctity of human life):
A recent analysis by the Colorado Center for Law and Policy (PDF) found that the state stands to earn at least $60 million in added revenue and law enforcement savings the first year, and up to $100 million annually after five years. The left-leaning Public Policy Polling group said earlier this month (PDF) that 47 percent of recent Colorado survey respondents favor marijuana legalization, versus 38 percent who oppose it.
So..... we can cut down on cops needlessly harassing young non-white males AND make some revenue for the state AND curtail wasteful police activities, all at the same time: a Trifecta!
3 cheers to the NAACP for showing folks how this is done.