cannabisnews.com: Pot Arrests Higher for Blacks in City





Pot Arrests Higher for Blacks in City
Posted by CN Staff on January 08, 2008 at 06:27:59 PT
By Angela Galloway
Source: MSNBC
WA -- 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. But City Attorney Tom Carr insisted that the numbers were too small to indicate a trend. "Drawing conclusions from data in the hundreds (of cases) is something that you can't do," Carr told the City Council on Monday.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. However, the study acknowledged it was unable to definitively link the decrease to I-75. Still, Holden said in an interview that the report generally shows, "I-75 worked exactly as voters had hoped and as the campaign had promised." Here are some highlights from the report:* 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.Councilman Nick Licata, a member of the panel, said the report shows the initiative was "a good thing.""It showed that you could actually make progress in legislating progressive drug reform laws and the sky doesn't fall down," Licata said. "Some fear that this would be the first step toward legalizing marijuana or drugs and I don't think that's going to happen. "But I think this certainly opens the door for that conversation."Having completed its assigned task, the panel likely will disband. It included representatives of city government, law enforcement, defense attorneys, a drug counselor and citizens.Licata said he would like to see the city further explore the questions raised about racial disparity in enforcement. "It raises questions. And ones that we should continue to pursue," he said.Another area bearing further study is that of drug policies as related to medical use of marijuana, Licata said. However, he has no immediate plans to propose such studies.Carr, meanwhile, also urged the council to repeal that policy established by the initiative. That is a suggestion that is neither officially proposed nor likely."It's time to rethink this," Carr said. "Instructing your public safety agency to pay less attention to a crime is not good public policy.""We're not going to legalize marijuana in Seattle -- we can't," Carr said, noting that marijuana use is prohibited under state law. "But we can't send a signal that it's OK. ... It's not a good thing."P-I reporter Neil Modie contributed to this report.Source: MSNBC (US Web)Author: Angela GallowayPublished: January 8, 2008Copyright: 2008 MSNBCContact: letters msnbc.comWebsite: http://msnbc.com/news/CannabisNews -- Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml
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Comment #19 posted by museman on January 09, 2008 at 13:44:34 PT
#16 -#17
You guys greatly resemble that 'remnant' I spoke of, but more on this side of the stage, the 'performance' side, if you grasp my meaning, thanks for the encouragement.
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Comment #18 posted by museman on January 09, 2008 at 13:39:27 PT
Bgreen #15
Well, no. That is my birthplace, but my family migrated west by the time I was 6. I did get to see The Who there on New Years Eve 1975/1976 during my 'find my roots' period. At both times I lived in the area, on both sides of the river, but I was never really any closer than Overland Park Ks. I did get shot in the eye with a cannabis stalk when I was about 6. I remember old hemp gardens everywhere. We used them for 'spears and arrows' in our neighborhood war games.I have played music mostly in the west, though there was a while there when all you had to do was be at a rainbow gathering to hear my music, when I was primarily acoustic. Near the end of my first decade of rainbow, there were a few psychedelic concerts with my old 'battle-axe' (that's his name; that guitar is definitely masculine) where electricity magically manifested, along with a stage, but those were only to be found in the then safe setting of a rainbow gathering.I play for what I have refered to as; 'the remnant,' a minority of people really. Some of the scarce "following" I have had were mostly within the rainbow and very few were not of an alternative/spiritual bent, but I have found that remnant everywhere, and it is they who have kept me going. I am slowed down mightily these days musically, and my band has kind of 'left the nest,' so I am having to modify my musical intentions, which I am shifting over to helping to tutor, engineer, and assist my talented children and their equally talented friends.I am in another band, called 'RiverTrain' that will probably do a gig here and there, a fun band for me, but since the founder of that band is dealing with health issues-getting old can really suck sometimes- and the drummer and bass player defected to Eugene, it won't be a lot.thanks for askin'
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Comment #17 posted by Dankhank on January 09, 2008 at 12:45:44 PT
museman
I can't remember when, if ever, anything you have written here has rubbed me wrong.you pierce the fog and lay truth out for all to behold.I have little use for the establishment and will tell them why, even if not asked. I, too, am impatient. I want freedom while I am still alive, also.I do better in a verbal setting. I prefer to see into the eyes of the haters as I explain their "errors."All of us in here have a "speciality" and I value yours.Peace to all who educate.
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Comment #16 posted by Had Enough on January 09, 2008 at 11:19:29 PT
Keeper of the muse…
Feedback“There are those who need to see and hear the content of my perspective, and I get my feedback telling me whether I'm doing my job or not.”Your doing your job… Very well, I might add…Obligations to mankind!!!…comes to mind…
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Comment #15 posted by BGreen on January 09, 2008 at 10:27:31 PT
Museman
Were you playing when you lived in K.C., KS? If so, when was it, what was the name of your band and where did you play?You don't have to answer these personal questions, but I was just wondering.The Reverend Bud Green
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Comment #14 posted by museman on January 09, 2008 at 09:55:44 PT
max
I am aware of the seeming fanaticism in some of my ranting, and the extremism is deliberate. A few years ago I explained my 'reasoning' behind my 'method' to FoM.As a songwriter/stage performer, I understand all too well the 'art of delivery,' in that the desires, polarities, and general attitudes of the recieving audience have to be taken into account and you adjust your act accordingly.Here on this site there are many perspectives on various issues, and I believe in multiplicity. Many people have their stance that is even familiar after reading the posts after a while. Mine is very opinionated. I don't feel the need or call to 'hold my punches' like I would if I were on a stage.I am also a very emotional being, I cry way too easily. I am affected deeply by the things that humans do to each other, one of the ways I deal with it is in verbalizing. I am also very aware of the connotations present in the terminolgy and words that are used on a common basis, but quite often without real depth of undertanding of meaning.As a musical artist, I decided a long time ago, that inspiration can be adjusted to fit the situation only so far before it leaves - and if I am not inspired, I feel very little motivation, therefore instead of conforming my act to the music industry standards -for example- I followed my muse instead. And though I have no 'hit-records' and I'll never get inducted into the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame (as if) I've had my payback in a lot of little ways, like when the ladies came backstage at my last performance and thanked me for 'keeping the Jerry sound alive,' and when the entire Barter Fair of 2001 was dancing to my tunes - those kind of things kept me going, made it worth it. If I judged my life and 'success' based on the American status quo standards, I am a complete and abject failure. However as track records go, I'd say that the staus quo has got a whole lot more abject failings to deal with than me.As far as my opinions about cops go. I drove around this country for 23 years without a drivers license or insurance, for the stupidest of reasons (from the state) I asure you, and I met quite a few. I have been arrested for pot charges 3 times, the first being one of the first 'marijuana tickets' handed out in California in 1975, and I went to jail all three times, but I stood my ground, and never paid any fines, nor did any probation, and the last charges were dropped after forcing them to realize I wasn't going to lay down and 'cop a plea.'The situation in this country concerning all the elements that cannot be construed by me in any other way than as 'error;' wealth, holdings, and the control of it, economic illusions of value, false authorities, and their equally false enforcement agencies are like big boils on the collective skin. They are a symptom of the greater disease, which is basicly believing in all the wrong things, and I just can't see how continuing to compromise with their error is going to solve anything.It's all about changing minds, and as I've already stated, there are many perspectives. There are those who need to see and hear the content of my perspective, and I get my feedback telling me whether I'm doing my job or not.These past few months I have been going through extreme changes, my moods swinging like a pendulum. There are sometimes, after reading some of my posts, I wished I'd been a little bit less reactive, and there are a few I probably should have kept to myself. But I'm not a candidate for anything, so I don't have to please everyone with a plattitudinal 'middle ground.' The middle ground here is cannabis prohibition, and that situation is directly relevant to what I preceive as 'the heart of the matter.'I try to put in little 'disclaimers' like stating that I know that 'all cops' aren't bullies, thugs, and predators, just most of them and I know that realistic progress is going to happen in relatively small stages, like 'baby steps' but as I have stated over and over again, I don't believe that compromising with the truth is going to get us anywhere. So far, I have yet to have the truth I 'rant' about reclassified, or revealed to be in error. For me some of these truths are like a distant point on the horizon, at least in terms of having a significant number of folks realizing them, but my gaze is permanently fixed on that goal and eventuality. I impatient, and I want my freedom now, while I am still alive. All the political posturing and compromises between the rich and powerful, and the rest of us are getting us nowhere, fast. So I feel no need to holster my guns, even though some may feel that my 'over the top' approach is not going to appeal to 'some we need on our side.' Well, in terms of prohibition, all we really need is votes, not agreement on everything, so it's not necessary that I 'please everyone.' There are plenty of other perspectives here for people to agree with.I try not to be deliberately offensive. That is my concession. I cannot help it if offence is taken, it goes with the territory. I can aim for the heart if necessary however, and I am good at it, been a 'gunslinger' for a long time.Thanks for the 'most of the time' acknowlegement.peaceoh, I'd like to add; Locality has very little to do with the prevailing attitudes of law enforcement. Used to be that county sheriffs were elected civilians. Since Reagan's WOD a law was passed that made it mandatory for county sheriffs to get federal 'training' in law enforcement. Civilian recruiting has taken a back seat to military experience, resulting in an unconstitutional situaion of having a very large, well-armed, standing army that answers to the federal government, not the people. I haven't lived in the city for 30 years, but the stories I hear from them tell me the same. Of course I never hung out with the 'endowed crowd' so my 'constituants' tend to have more experience on the street level, and understand and in fact relate to my 'rantings' quite easily. I have lived in 8 states, and been to about 20 others. I have been to Mexico, and to Europe. As far as I can tell the 'law enforcement blight' is a common theme for cops everywhere, but here in America it is far far worse. 
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Comment #13 posted by fight_4_freedom on January 09, 2008 at 08:13:51 PT:
I hope he gets every single penny
Medical Marijuana Payback Burns Colorado PoliceAurora Pot Grower Blazes New Legal TrailPolicing pot in Colorado is about to get a lot more complicated. The kick-in-the-door raids SWAT teams have long employed could now cost cities hundreds of thousands of dollars following two landmark court decisions upholding the state's constitutional protection of medical marijuana. Under the rulings, police departments are required to return any marijuana and paraphernalia taken from state-sanctioned growers, and can be sued by those growers if the crops aren't preserved.The largest case thus far involves Kevin Dickes, who intends to sue the Denver suburb of Aurora for over $360,000 in pot damages. It comes less than a month after a judge ordered the return of an estimated $200,000 of medical marijuana to a couple in Fort Collins.
Full Washington Post Article
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Comment #12 posted by Max Flowers on January 08, 2008 at 17:27:56 PT
Museman's sermons
Sam Adams: Museman, what you say is so true most of the time. That's interesting that you say that... myself I find him to be so melodramatic and extremist most of the time that it is hard for me to extract how much truth there is in it. I don't disagree with the spirit or basic premise of what he is usually saying, mind you, it's just the over-the-top way that he says it comes off as fanatical and in my opinion renders it useless hyperbole. Just one example: I DO look very much like a hippie and like I don't support the system, yet I basically never get pulled over by cops, ever, and I never have interactions with cops... ever. So applied to my life and experience, what he is saying looks like alarmism. Now, if what he says is true where he lives without exaggeration, I have a very strong suggestion for him: move somewhere else!! Your locality is obviously wrecked already, or you drive in a way or in a car that invites being pulled over, or you live in a town with a population of 400 (where OF COURSE cops single people out for harassment---they're bored!).
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Comment #11 posted by FoM on January 08, 2008 at 15:29:47 PT
fight_4_freedom 
Thank you for the link. I"ll check it out when the winds slows down.
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Comment #10 posted by The GCW on January 08, 2008 at 14:07:13 PT
For bigots -The laws are working just fine.
???Pot Arrests Higher for Blacks in City???Most drug laws were enacted as a racist means to incarcerate minorities to begin with. For bigots who instituted America's drug laws, they are working as planned. 
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Comment #9 posted by fight_4_freedom on January 08, 2008 at 12:36:23 PT:
FoM and all others who wanted to see that MINORML
meeting, here you go. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmM2hg6Gwi8
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Comment #8 posted by fight_4_freedom on January 08, 2008 at 12:30:43 PT:
Thank you Gary
Gary Storck: Dreyfus supported medical marijuana; today's pols should tooA letter to the editor — 1/08/2008 9:29 amDear Editor: I was sorry to read of the passing of former Wisconsin Gov. Lee Sherman Dreyfus. Dreyfus signed Wisconsin's first medical marijuana bill into law on April 19, 1982.As a glaucoma patient fighting each day to save my precious eyesight, I had been using cannabis for 10 years and had lobbied for the bill. The Therapeutic Cannabis Research Act passed both houses easily. Similar legislation was passed in more than two-thirds of U.S. states.Unfortunately, these bills were written with the expectation that the federal government would supply the program's medical marijuana. With federal authorities unwilling to supply marijuana to sick and dying U.S. citizens, the law became symbolic.While Dreyfus remained a supporter of medical marijuana in his later years, many of the Republican legislators who followed him in state government have blocked medical marijuana legislation.This session, the Jacki Rickert Medical Marijuana Act is awaiting action in the Assembly's Health and Healthcare Reform Committee. Chair Leah Vukmir, R-Wauwatosa, a nurse, has stated that the bill will not receive a hearing. If the bill does not receive a hearing soon, it will die in committee like previous attempts dating back more than a decade.Polling has established that popular support for medical marijuana exceeds 80 percent in Wisconsin. As an advocate for medical cannabis, I constantly receive calls from patients and family members who indicate there is a crisis in pain management in our state. I know the good folks who call me represent only the tip of the iceberg.Memo to the GOP leadership: The sick and dying are not your enemy. I get calls from Republicans too. Let's get this done, this session, in honor of the memory of not only a man ahead of his time, Gov. Lee Sherman Dreyfus, but also the thousands of Wisconsinites who died in pain. Please make passage of the Jacki Rickert Medical Marijuana Act a true priority when the Legislature reconvenes Jan. 15!Gary Storck, Is My Medicine Legal YET?, Madison
LTE by Gary Storck
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Comment #7 posted by fight_4_freedom on January 08, 2008 at 12:00:49 PT:
When will they open 
their eyes???lyrics- http://tinyurl.com/357wxk
AlterBridge- Open Your Eyes
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Comment #6 posted by dongenero on January 08, 2008 at 11:52:08 PT
Fat Americans- we must need another pharmaceutical
Or as an alternative one could restrict their caloric intake, choose lean, healthy protein sources, plenty of fruits and vegetables. Balance that caloric intake with the excercise necessary to burn the calories you've taken in.Or.......take a pill, which has a few side effects as outlined in the bloomberg article below....interestingly the side effects are polar opposites of the benefits of cannabis as one might guess.Unlike marijuana, taranabant blocks the CB1 receptor, suppressing appetite. Side effects include anxiety, nausea, vomiting and frequent bowel movements, according to the study. All were more pronounced in the higher doses.``The major hurdle is psychiatric,'' Heymsfield said. ``We know with what we've seen that there are some effects of anxiety and depression related to the mechanism of the drug.'' A similar drug, Sanofi-Aventis SA's Zimulti, was withdrawn by the company from consideration for marketing approval after an advisory panel found that the company's safety data were insufficient and that the weight lost in clinical trials didn't justify the danger of psychiatric or neurological side effects. Paris-based Sanofi has said it will resubmit the pill to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.FDA DelayThe FDA had delayed a decision on the drug, marketed as Acomplia outside the U.S., three times because of concerns it was unsafe. U.S. regulators reviewing the company's application found that people who took the drug were twice as likely to have thoughts of suicide as those on a placebo.Three patients taking the drug killed themselves during clinical trials, Sanofi officials said in June 2007. 
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Comment #5 posted by fight_4_freedom on January 08, 2008 at 11:29:10 PT:
This right here proves marijuana has medical 
benefits. So again, why is it still a Schedule 1 drug? So a pill that causes weight loss, anxiety, nausea, vomiting is ok. But a natural plant that increases appetite, reduces anxiety, nausea, and vomiting isn't allowed.Where is the justice in this world?Merck Pill Derived From Pot Research Curbs `Munchies' (Update1)By Elizabeth LopattoJan. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Merck & Co.'s experimental diet pill, developed using research on marijuana, may curb the munchies and lead to weight loss, a study says.Patients taking the pill, taranabant, lost an average of 6 to 12 pounds, depending on dose. Those given a placebo lost about 3 pounds during the 12-week study, published today by the journal Cell Metabolism. The research is in the second of three phases of testing needed for U.S. marketing approval.About 31 percent of Americans over the age of 20 have abnormally high body fat, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. The drug targets a receptor found in the brain and gastrointestinal tract discovered through study on marijuana, the researchers wrote.``It's known that when you smoke marijuana, which is a natural chemical that stimulates the receptor, the marijuana has beneficial effects on nausea,'' said Steven Heymsfield of Merck, the study's head researcher. The effect on the receptor, called CB1, explains why, he said.Unlike marijuana, taranabant blocks the CB1 receptor, suppressing appetite. Side effects include anxiety, nausea, vomiting and frequent bowel movements, according to the study. All were more pronounced in the higher doses. 
Whole Article
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Comment #4 posted by museman on January 08, 2008 at 11:03:09 PT
Sam
While it is true that this system has created a subculture of criminals, both those employed by the system, and those imprisoned by the system, and it is a situation that could develop into chaos should the current infrastructure suffer the kind of collapse that happened in the Soviet Union, that still does not make it acceptable.From everything I have seen, I have to say that there is very little difference between the government we have, and the kind of mafiosa that might spring up should such a thing happen. The solutions unfortunately aren't within the current framework of 'checks and balances' and are going to have to be arrived at with painful small baby steps in the right direction.It's about people taking more personal responsibility for their lives, and establishing new parameters of acceptable behavior. It's about giving credence and credibility to whom, what, and where it belongs instead of the hyped up hollywood productions we (in general as a nation) have come to erroneously accept as 'reality.'You know, I watched significant parts of the debates the past few days, and I have to say that I have never heard such a collection of empty words,... since the last 'election.' I could not respect any of those players and pretenders on any level, they are all a bunch of turkey vultures posing as humans. I wouldn't want them to be responsible for any aspect of my life and reality - if I had a choice, that would be like hiring monkeys to fix my car, or rattlesnakes to guard my stash.I am sorely aware that the future I have trained my vision upon, is still mostly considered to be in the realm of fairy tales by the status quo, but then the status quo is just the emporers new clothes to me. I know that there are many steps in between what we have as our collective agreement of reality, and where we need to go with it, but I keep my eyes on the goal.
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on January 08, 2008 at 10:35:43 PT
Gravel Tells Kids: Use Pot Over Alcohol
January 8, 2008http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-gravel_pearsonjan08,1,2851904.story
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Comment #2 posted by Sam Adams on January 08, 2008 at 10:22:22 PT
another aspect
Museman, what you say is so true most of the time. There will always be a need for enforcer-type people in the world, but the question is, should we minimize the number of them?  Or should we keep finding new ways to constantly increase the number of violent thugs on the govt. payroll, giving them more and more slices of the tax pie? What's going to happen if there's a truly big recession? The collapse of our currency, which I've predicted here for years, has already begun, with the dollar losing up to half its value in the last couple years. Our economy could soon follow suit. Right now we have 2.5 million guys in prison lifting weights and getting more brutal. I wonder how many guys we have guarding them, also lifting and getting more de-sensitized to violence and cruelty every day. What's going to happen when the government goes broke? These people aren't going away, they'll be with us for the rest of their lives. In Russia when the economy collapsed, everyday life and business was taken over by mafia thugs, many used to work for the government.
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Comment #1 posted by museman on January 08, 2008 at 09:46:51 PT
cops
Cops are created primarily from bullies, thugs, and trained military killers. The kind of low-brow philosphies that are prevalent in their profiles, definitely includes prejudice of every kind.This article reports that the cops are more likely to bust a black man than a white man, but I'm willing to bet that if the white man has long hair, or not an obvious conformist to the crewcut-suit-and-tie status quo, he shares the experience with his black brothers.Symptoms of this social disease are all over the map, but the cause is surely only getting cursory glances, and very little consideration, because the masters of the game have made sure that everyone is somehow inexorably linked to having to support this bogus system one way or another. If you even LOOK like you don't, look in your rearview mirror, there's a 90% chance a cop is on your tail.
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