Pubdate: Sun, 04 Nov 2012
Source: Durango Herald, The (CO)
Copyright: 2012 The Durango Herald
Contact: http://durangoherald.com/write_the_editor/
Website: http://durangoherald.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/866
Author: Ann Imse

POT ARRESTS UP DESPITE MEDICAL CARDS

Minorities Are More Likely to Face Charges Than Whites

The Colorado Bureau of Investigation reports that 10,259 people were 
arrested in the state for possession of marijuana last year, despite 
the fact that 100,000 people now have the legal right to use medical marijuana.

The number of people arrested for possession had been dropping since 
2007, but rose 7 percent last year, CBI figures show.

The increase comes despite more lenient laws and enforcement in 
Colorado. Medical marijuana dispensaries have been licensed, and 2 
percent of Coloradans have obtained a card granting them the right to 
use marijuana for medicinal purposes. Voters have told a number of 
cities to cut back on enforcement. And Coloradans are about to decide 
on outright legalization in the vote on Amendment 64.

Attorney Brian Vicente, the co-chairman of the Amendment 64 campaign, 
said he doesn't know why possession arrests have been rising. CBI 
spokeswoman Susan Medina said the bureau only collects the statistics 
and does not analyze them.

Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck, who opposes legalization, has 
said police often find marijuana when arresting people for more 
serious crimes, such as burglary.

Of those arrested for possession of marijuana, African-Americans are 
cited at higher rates than whites in Colorado, even though studies 
show they use the drug less. A group called the Marijuana Arrest 
Research Project says that in the last 10 years, FBI data show 
African-Americans were arrested at 3.1 times the rate of whites in 
Colorado. The arrest rates for blacks were at least 2-to-1 in eight 
of the state's 10 largest counties.

The Marijuana Arrest Research Project, based in New York, also 
estimated that Latinos in Colorado were arrested at 1.5 times the 
rate of whites, said the group's Harry Levine. That estimate was 
based on a scholarly statistical adjustment, Levine said, because the 
FBI doesn't count Hispanics separately.

The high number of arrests, and particularly the disproportionate 
number of minorities, has prompted the Colorado conference of the 
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People to endorse 
Amendment 64.

"This is a civil-rights issue because it disproportionately affects 
communities of color," said Rosemary Harris Lytle, president of the 
Colorado conference. Proponents argue that ending marijuana arrests 
entirely would resolve the question of bias.

But Laura Chapin of SmartColorado/No on 64 said that legalizing the 
entire marijuana industry is not the answer to a problem of 
discriminatory law enforcement. There are other ways to eliminate 
discrimination, she says, besides legalizing commercial-scale 
growing, distribution and sale of the drug.

The Marijuana Arrest Research Project report says minorities are 
disproportionately arrested because of a police practice of intensive 
patrolling of certain neighborhoods, typically those with more 
low-income whites, blacks and Latinos. Stopping and searching people 
in these areas leads to more minority arrests, the study said.

Having a drug arrest on one's record can limit job opportunities, 
housing and admission to college. That can seriously damage the 
future of the many African-Americans and Latinos caught up in 
marijuana-possession cases, Lytle said.

Misunderstanding about laws might also play a role in why overall 
arrests are rising. Breckenridge Police chief Shannon Haynes said her 
municipal arrests rose after the resort town voted to legalize 
marijuana, resulting in national publicity. Though the charge of 
possession of marijuana has been removed from its municipal code, 
there is still a ban on using it in public.

Hayes says she believes arrests rose in Breckenridge -- from 21 to 32 
from 2008 to 2011 -- "because there was a general misimpression that 
marijuana was now legal in Breckenridge and you could do it anywhere."

Driving while impaired would remain illegal under Amendment 64, as 
would using marijuana in public. For example, a random check of four 
men who pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana in recent Lakewood 
municipal court cases found all four men might have been cited even 
if Amendment 64 passes.

For people younger than 21, marijuana would remain illegal under Amendment 64.

Carol McKinley contributed to this story.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom