Pubdate: Wed, 05 Jun 2013
Source: Kalamazoo Gazette (MI)
Copyright: 2013 Kalamazoo Gazette
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/vggfBDch
Website: http://www.mlive.com/kzgazette/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/588
Author: Julie Mack

STUDY: BLACKS IN KALAMAZOO COUNTY 8 TIMES MORE LIKELY THAN WHITES TO
BE ARRESTED FOR MARIJUANA

KALAMAZOO, MI -- African-Americans in Kalamazoo County are 8.5 times
more likely than whites to be arrested for marijuana possession,
according to a new study by the American Civil Liberties Union that
looked at statistics from 2001 to 2010.

Kalamazoo County had one of the largest racial disparities in the state, 
said the ACLU report, which found that the ratio of black-white arrests 
for marijuana possession was 3.73 to 1 nationwide and 3.3 to 1 in 
Michigan. (Report: Blacks in Kent County 7.5 times more likely to be 
arrested for marijuana possession than whites)

Other studies have shown that whites and blacks use illicit drugs at
similar rates. A 2011-12 survey of Kalamazoo County ninth- and
11th-graders by state health officials found that 20.3 percent of
black teens had used marijuana in the previous month compared to 18.5
percent of whites.

The ACLU study, titled "Black and White: Billions of Dollars Wasted on 
Racially Biased Arrests," looked at marijuana possession rates 
nationally by race for all 50 states and at a county level. The study 
used data from the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting Program and the U.S. 
Census, and calculated the rate of arrests per 100,000 residents in that 
racial group, which allows for an apples-to-apples comparison of 
populations despite their size.

Among the ACLU's findings about Michigan:

The arrest rate for whites in Kalamazoo County matches the state
average, while arrest rates for blacks is three times the statewide
number.

Counties with the greatest racial disparities in arrests were Monroe
(15.4 times); St. Clair (10.1 times), Jackson (8.6 times), Kalamazoo
(8.5 times) and Kent (7.5 times). In Wayne County, the state's most
populous county, blacks were 1.9 times more likely to be arrested.

Over the 10-year period studied, the arrest rate for whites declined
statewide, from 162 arrests per 100,000 residents in 2001 to 141 in
2010. Meanwhile, the arrest rate for blacks more than doubled, from
214 per 100,000 residents in 2001 to 444 in 2010.

49.6 percent of 2010 arrests in Michigan for drug offenses involved
possession of marijuana and Michigan public agencies spent $94.8
million on enforcing marijuana-possession laws that year.

Said an ACLU press release accompanying the study. Nationwide, the
arrest data reveals a consistent trend: overwhelming racial bias.
Despite comparable marijuana usage rates among white people and black
people, blacks are 3.73 times more likely than whites to be arrested
for marijuana possession. In some counties, that disparity rises to
more than 15 times more likely. Such racial disparities in marijuana
possession arrests exist in all regions of the country, in counties
large and small, urban and rural, wealthy and poor, and with large and
small black populations.

According to the ACLU's original analysis, marijuana arrests now
account for around 50 percent of all drug arrests in the US. There
were 8.2 million marijuana arrests between 2001 and 2010, 88 percent
of which were for possession. In 2010, police arrested someone for
having marijuana every 41 seconds - leading to hundreds of thousands
of people unnecessarily ensnared in our criminal justice system for a
non-violent offense. The price paid by those arrested and convicted of
marijuana possession is often significant and can linger for years, if
not a lifetime. Arrests and convictions for possessing marijuana can
negatively impact public housing and student financial aid
eligibility, employment opportunities, child custody determinations,
and immigration status.

The Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety is currently in the midst of
a study on racial profiling. The report is due to be released this
month.
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MAP posted-by: Matt