Thanks to Lex Pelger and his extraordinarily comprehensive weekly update
SARAH GERSTEN Executive Director and General Counsel Last Prisinor Project
Throughout the United States, cannabis has seen rapid change in both public policy and public sentiment. Not only is cannabis legalization more popular than ever, garnering support from 70% of Americans,1 but an overwhelming majority of states currently have some form of medical or adult-use cannabis marketplace.2 Cannabis is now a multi-billion dollar industry in the nearly forty states where it is legal for medical or adult use.3 Yet, despite a growing number of states adopting pro-cannabis policies and benefiting from the revenue generated by cannabis sales, countless individuals remain penalized for cannabis and cannabis-related activity. In 2018 alone, there were over 600,000 cannabis-related arrests, the vast majority of which were for simple possession,4 and marijuana arrests still make up nearly a third of all drug arrests.5 The past century of cannabis criminalization has not only led to the arrests of millions of individuals, but the enforcement of punitive cannabis laws has also been egregiously unequal across demographics.6 On average, Black people are 3.64 times more likely than their white counterparts to be arrested for cannabis, despite similar consumption rates.7 Sadly, these racial disparities in arrest rates persist even after a state legalizes cannabis.8 According to the ACLU, in every state that has decriminalized or legalized cannabis, Black people were still more likely to be arrested for cannabis possession than white people.
