Blacks in Louisiana are more likely to be arrested for possession of marijuana
24th September 2018 · 0 Comments
Black people in Louisiana are nearly three times as likely as white people to be arrested on a marijuana possession charge, according to a new report on racial profiling.
NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune reported that the Southern Poverty Law Center has found that Black Louisiana residents are 2.9 times more likely to be arrested for pot possession, even though a 2016 National Survey on Drug Use and Health reported Black and white people use marijuana “at similar rates.”
The center is a nonprofit that advocates for equal justice and opportunity. The organization’s report was published last Tuesday. Its analysis of marijuana possession arrests is based on 2016 FBI Uniform Crime Reporting data, which includes data that law enforcement agencies voluntarily provide to the U.S. Department of Justice, as well as U.S. Census Bureau population data.
The FBI Uniform Crime Reporting program counts the most serious offense if someone is arrested on several charges, so the center’s analysis is based on people charged only with marijuana possession or when other offenses were considered less serious.
The Baton Rouge Police Department had the highest disparity, the report says. Black people were six times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession by Baton Rouge police than white people, it says.
A group seeking to advance the law enforcement profession through advocacy and education is cited in the report. The International Association of Chiefs of Police said a department policy against racial profiling is the “first step” to preventing it.
The report says 109 of the 310 Louisiana law enforcement agencies the center surveyed “admitted they have no policy on racial profiling.”
It also says that while Black people comprised roughly 31 percent of Louisiana’s adult population in 2016, they accounted for 54 percent of adults who were arrested and 68 percent of adults in prison.
In March of 2016, the New Orleans City Council voted 7-0 to reduce the penalties for marijuana possession in Orleans Parish.
The ordinance, which was proposed by Councilmember Susan Guidry, who headed the Council’s Criminal Justice Committee, gives police the ability to punish marijuana possession with a citation instead of issuing summonses or making custodial arrests. The citations would come with a fine of $40 for first offenses, $60 for second offenses, $80 for third offenses and $100 for subsequent offenses.
However, officers still have the ability to make arrests under state law instead of municipal law if they chose to do so, a fact that can only be changed at the state level. While some on the council, particularly Councilmember Jared Brossett, expressed concerns about officers invoking state law to make arrests, the consensus appeared to be that a change in municipal law would lead to a significant reduction in arrests and would be a step in the right direction.
“We are extremely impressed that all seven councilmembers supported this common sense marijuana reform,” said Kevin Caldwell, executive director of CommonsenseNOLA. “It’s a great day for the City of New Orleans.”
The unanimous vote came just a few days after a number of local musicians — including Kermit Ruffins, Phil Frazier (Rebirth Brass Band), Terrence Houston, Billy Iuso, KC O’Rorke (Flow Tribe), Papa Mali, Eric Benny Bloom, Tom McDermott, Meschiya Lake and many others – declared their support for marijuana reform.
The unanimous vote marked the city’s biggest shift in marijuana policy since Ordinance 28,246 went into effect in 2011. That law gave police officers the ability to issue a summons for first-time marijuana possession charges instead of forcing them to make custodial arrests. Since its implementation, New Orleans has seen its number of marijuana possession arrests drop to an average of 2,600 per year (between 2011 and 2014) from its previous high of 6,000 per year (2007-2010). However, officers still issued 1,400 summonses per year between 2011 and 2014, bringing the total number of marijuana possession charges to 4,000 per year during that time frame.
The City Council expressed hope that the new law would further reduce the number of marijuana possession arrests.
Local elected officials and justice advocates also expressed hope that the changes to New Orleans’ marijuana possession laws would do away with the city’s dubious role as the nation’s “Mass Incarceration Capital.”
This article originally published in the September 24, 2018 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
