The NYPD’s stop and frisk campaign led directly to the surge in low-level marijuana arrests, figures released today by the New York Civil Liberties Union show.
For context, marijuana arrests are the top arrest category in the entire stop and frisk program. Last year, five percent–or 26,000–of all stops were for suspected possession of marijuana. Despite the fact that whites use marijuana at a higher rate, blacks by far bore the brunt of those stops–61 percent, in all. Incredibly, just 9 percent of marijuana-based stop involved white folks. More over at the Village Voice.
