War on Weed
By: Abigail Campbell
Melonie Alvarado
Man protesting about weed legalization
In 2016, in Philadelphia, Melonie Alvarado was convicted of her first crime: drug dealing. She was given a 3 year probation and now she is to be convicted again for using marijuana. Alvarado used marijuana for medical purposes, so when the judge told her to “get clean”, she failed all the drug tests that followed. The judge told her, “You need drug treatment. Jail might help.” Surprising though that even after Philadelphia decriminalized weed in 2014, people are still at risk for incarceration. But not just anyone. Statistically, black people are at a higher risk to be incarcerated for possession of weed than whites, despite data that has proven both races use it at an equal rate. In fact, black people are about 4 times more likely to get arrested for weed than whites. As of 2018, all of arrests made for weed possession were 80% black people. This has evidently created a racial disparity in the prison systems surrounding weed. As a result, the lives of those who were incarcerated have been ruined because returning to society with a conviction is challenging, especially as a black individual. This is unacceptable for something as minor as smoking weed.
Philadelphia is not the only city that faces this issue. New York City also has this problem because New York has not legalized the recreational use of marijuana. However, states such as California, Colorado and others along the west coast, have legalized its use. After legalization, California changed a series of laws to lessen the consequences surrounding weed. For instance, if an individual was convicted for weed prior to legalization, their conviction could not prevent them from receiving a job or getting housing. The new laws have also benefited minors. If a minor was convicted for openly smoking weed in public, it is the law for the offense to be removed from their record at the age of 18. The most punishment they would receive is community service. In addition, people in jail for offenses relating to weed could petition for a judge to either reduce their sentence or release them and expunge the conviction from their record. As a positive effect, “robberies, murders and aggravated assaults have all dropped by around 13 percent in areas close to medical marijuana states.” If anything, any reported increase crime rate is actually due to the neighboring areas that prohibit the use of weed. They are taking advantage of the situation since they are not allowed the same privilege and weed holds so much value. Still, a problem prevails surrounding weed: the racial aspect. Black individuals are still at a greater risk of obtaining the offense because the law prohibits smoking weed in public. And since it is proven that blacks own less private property than whites, it would be harder for them to exercise their new privilege without being reprimanded.
Statistics showing racial disparity
For Philadelphia, legalizing marijuana alone is a big start. Implementing the same laws as California would give people their lives back; allow them to work. As for addressing the property crisis that aids into the racial disparity of marijuana convictions, there is no real solution, however changing the punishment for smoking publicly could help lower the disparity. Eliminating the use of racial profiling so that majority black neighborhoods are not targeting with excessive policing would help with this disparity. It all really starts with removing the stigma and ending the criminalization of a practice that hurts no one.