Legalizing marijuana is civil rights issue, California NAACP says - CNN.com: ...Police departments in California have made more than 60,000 marijuana possession arrests in 2008, three times more than in 1990, according to a recent study released by the Drug Policy Alliancean organization that says it promotes policies to end the war on drugs. Although blacks and Latinos make up less than 44 percent of the state's population, together both ethnic groups constitute up to 56 percent of arrests that are made for marijuana possession in California, according to the study. Furthermore, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has found that African-Americans use marijuana at lower rates than white Americans across the country.
The study said arrests in California are 'racially-biased' and have led to a 'system-wide phenomenon, occurring in every county and nearly every police department in California, and elsewhere.'
