420 with CNW — New Study Finds That Cannabis Legalization Decreases Racially Biased Arrests
New research has found that states which maintain cannabis prohibition continue seeing increases in disparities in rates of arrest while those that decriminalize or legalize cannabis experience significant reductions in race-based arrests. The research was published by the American Medical Association in its JAMA journal. The report examined data collected from 43 states in the country in order to establish a clear pattern.
The researchers from Saint Louis University and Eastern Virginia Medical School analyzed arrests between 2008 and 2019, with a focus on trends associated with race. They discovered that over that period of time, states which legalized marijuana saw a 190-person drop in arrests for Caucasian people and a 560-person decline in arrests per 100,000 African Americans.
With regard to decriminalization, the researchers found a 117-person decline in arrests for Caucasian individuals and about 450-person drop in arrests per 100,000 African Americans. The researchers also found that racial disparities in arrests dropped in states which enacted reform and rose in those that maintain prohibition, noting that rates of arrest increased for Black individuals and remained stable for their White counterparts. In addition, they found that data on cannabis arrests in adolescents shows that younger individuals faced a lower risk of being arrested under decriminalization in comparison with legalization.
In their report, the researchers explained that arrest trends showed almost no change in the rates of arrest of Black and White young people in states that had implemented marijuana legalization, which isn’t surprising, if one considers that young people aren’t included in the legalized market, as it targets people aged 21 and above. They note that despite this result, it is important to continue to monitor the effects of policy changes as well as advocate for targeted policies that address arrest disparities and youth arrests.
This research confirms that while arrests for White individuals remained almost the same, the arrest rate disparity increased over time for Black individuals in states that didn’t implement policy changes, which is what advocates of reform have argued for. In their conclusion, the researchers note that the study’s results called attention to the need for targeted interventions that address racial injustice.
This isn’t the first time marijuana policy and the racist effect of the drug war on Black people in the United States has been discussed or mentioned in studies. Nora Volkow, head of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, has on more than one occasion criticized and called attention to the racial disparities in the enforcement of drug criminalization.
When one sees these arrest disparities in jurisdictions with prohibitionist laws, a new appreciation of the deeper role legal cannabis companies such as Cannabis Strategic Ventures Inc. (OTC: NUGS) indirectly play by promoting equity comes to light.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Cannabis Strategic Ventures Inc. (OTC: NUGS) are available in the company’s newsroom at http://cnw.fm/NUGS
Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the CannabisNewsWire website applicable to all content provided by CNW420, wherever published or re-published: http://CNW.fm/Disclaimer
New research has found that states which maintain cannabis prohibition continue seeing increases in disparities in rates of arrest while those that decriminalize or legalize cannabis experience significant reductions in race-based arrests. The research was published by the American Medical Association in its JAMA journal. The report examined data collected from 43 states in the country in order to establish a clear pattern.
The researchers from Saint Louis University and Eastern Virginia Medical School analyzed arrests between 2008 and 2019, with a focus on trends associated with race. They discovered that over that period of time, states which legalized marijuana saw a 190-person drop in arrests for Caucasian people and a 560-person decline in arrests per 100,000 African Americans.
With regard to decriminalization, the researchers found a 117-person decline in arrests for Caucasian individuals and about 450-person drop in arrests per 100,000 African Americans. The researchers also found that racial disparities in arrests dropped in states which enacted reform and rose in those that maintain prohibition, noting that rates of arrest increased for Black individuals and remained stable for their White counterparts. In addition, they found that data on cannabis arrests in adolescents shows that younger individuals faced a lower risk of being arrested under decriminalization in comparison with legalization.
In their report, the researchers explained that arrest trends showed almost no change in the rates of arrest of Black and White young people in states that had implemented marijuana legalization, which isn’t surprising, if one considers that young people aren’t included in the legalized market, as it targets people aged 21 and above. They note that despite this result, it is important to continue to monitor the effects of policy changes as well as advocate for targeted policies that address arrest disparities and youth arrests.
This research confirms that while arrests for White individuals remained almost the same, the arrest rate disparity increased over time for Black individuals in states that didn’t implement policy changes, which is what advocates of reform have argued for. In their conclusion, the researchers note that the study’s results called attention to the need for targeted interventions that address racial injustice.
This isn’t the first time marijuana policy and the racist effect of the drug war on Black people in the United States has been discussed or mentioned in studies. Nora Volkow, head of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, has on more than one occasion criticized and called attention to the racial disparities in the enforcement of drug criminalization.
When one sees these arrest disparities in jurisdictions with prohibitionist laws, a new appreciation of the deeper role legal cannabis companies such as Cannabis Strategic Ventures Inc. (OTC: NUGS) indirectly play by promoting equity comes to light.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Cannabis Strategic Ventures Inc. (OTC: NUGS) are available in the company’s newsroom at http://cnw.fm/NUGS
Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the CannabisNewsWire website applicable to all content provided by CNW420, wherever published or re-published: http://CNW.fm/Disclaimer
