Black Minnesotans way more likely to get arrested for marijuana than whites, report says

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A new report published by Minnesota 2020 reiterates what cannabis activists have been saying for years, in some cases decades — that marijuana reform is not merely a matter of medical necessity but of civil rights.
Relying on FBI statistics from 2011, the progressive think tank found that black Minnesotans are 6.4 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than whites. That figure is twice the national average and mostly represents men under the age of 25.


“That kind of over-representation cannot be accounted for without racial bias,” says Steve Fletcher, executive director of the Minnesota 2020, at a news conference Monday. “Black Minnesotans bear a disproportionate share of the personal and collateral costs of our war on drugs.”
The ACLU came to a similar conclusion last year, but what sets this report apart is it attempt to quantify direct and indirect costs. These would include the obvious (fines, court fees) as well as the not-so-obvious (access to federal student loans, loss of wages, possible deportation).
Read more over at the Minneapolis City Pages.

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