Lowest-Priority Law for Cannabis Works ... for Whites

According to a new evaluation, the number of marijuana arrests in the city of Seattle has declined since passage of I-75, at least for some. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported on Jan. 8, 2008 ("Pot Arrests Higher for Blacks in City") that "In late 2003, Seattle voters approved an initiative directing city law enforcement to treat personal marijuana use by adults as its lowest priority. Since then, the overall number of cases investigated by police and pursued by city prosecutors has dropped, the report found."

According to the Post-Intelligencer, "White Seattleites have enjoyed a disproportionately larger share of the reduction in misdemeanor marijuana charges -- compared with black people -- since Seattle voters designated such crimes the city's lowest law enforcement priority, according to a new city study. Overall, police and prosecutors less often pursue possession charges against both blacks and whites. But the proportion of those charged who are African-American has grown. In fact, although whites vastly outnumber black men and women in Seattle, authorities arrested and charged more African-Americans in 2006 on marijuana allegations, according to a report presented by the Marijuana Policy Review Panel. The panel recommended officials dig deeper into that data to determine what is causing the disparity. 'The report highlights the racial disparity in marijuana enforcement, which is indicative of the disparity of all drug enforcement,' said Dominic Holden, who was chairman of the Initiative 75 campaign and a member of the review panel."

The P-I noted that "In 2003, Seattle police referred 181 male suspects to prosecutors for marijuana allegations. That figure dropped in 2004, but edged back up to 134 in 2006. Over the same period, the proportion of cases that police referred to prosecutors against black suspects grew compared with white suspects. The share of white men that police sought to charge dropped slightly, while the proportion of black males among the suspects grew from 52 percent to 57 percent. Among female suspects there was a larger disparity, although police sought charges against very few women. In 2003, black women made up 35 percent of the female suspects. Three years later, they accounted for half of the 14 women police sought to charge. The numbers were similar among charges filed by prosecutors. In 2003, city attorneys filed marijuana cases against 123 men and 19 women. Those numbers dropped significantly in 2004 and 2005. But charges against men jumped back up to 116 in 2006. The proportion of defendants who were black grew slightly over that period. The report also found no indications the policy resulted in a jump in crime rates, increased marijuana use by youth or negative implications to public health."

The "Final Report of the Marijuana Policy Review Panel" is available online.