New Report Indicates Maine Marijuana Busts Predominantly Black People

Black people in Maine are twice as likely as their white counterparts to be arrested for marijuana possession, according to the latest report from the American Civil Liberties Union. Now, the Maine ACLU intends to utilize these statistics to strengthen their argument in the fight to legalize the drug.

Earlier this week, a piece of legislation that will allow voters to decided on the legalization of marijuana was put on the table and is expected to be voted on by the House and Senate in the near future.

According to the ACLU’s latest report entitled “Marijuana in Black and White: Billions of Dollars Wasted on Racially Biased Arrests,” there were nearly 2,850 marijuana possession arrests made in Maine during 2010, with nearly 3 percent of them involving black people, even though the black community only made up just over 1 percent of the population in that year.

“The failed war on drugs has cost Maine millions of dollars and disproportionately swept people of color into the criminal justice system, but it has done little to reduce drug use or availability,” said Shenna Bellows, ACLU of Maine executive director. “It’s time to say ‘enough is enough,’ and put our resources into passing reforms that are more fair and do a better job of keeping our communities safe.”

Interestingly, the report indicates that marijuana prohibition cost Maine law enforcement and judicial systems nearly $9 million just to prosecute all of the marijuana offenses in 2010. It goes on to show that black people reportedly use more marijuana than white people – 14 percent black compared to nearly 12 percent white.

The ACLU report strongly urges the state to legalize and regulate marijuana for those over the age of 21. “Legalization is the smartest and surest way to end targeted enforcement of marijuana laws in communities of color, and, moreover, would eliminate the costs of such enforcement while generating revenue for cash-strapped states,” says the report.

What do you think – should marijuana be legalized in Maine?