Discussion
  • Read More
    No-Mi SkyeClover Hope
    6/29/16 12:25pm

    Well weed might be legal, but being brown/black still isn’t.

    Reply
    <
    • Read More
      Lizabethie: of the New WorldNo-Mi Skye
      6/29/16 12:30pm

      It makes me weep, for the truth in these words.

      Reply
      <
    • Read More
      BERN DOWN FOR WHATNo-Mi Skye
      6/29/16 12:32pm

      No doubt no doubt. Props to you for this comment. You said exactly what is on all of our minds. Stylin.

      It’s no wonder that 93% of POCs are going to vote for Hillary. As a Bernie supporter, I guess I never really considered why that is. Well, she’s on point about justice, for one. She knows that there are scores of innocent black and brown men in jail for nothing more than having trace amounts of marijuana on their person. That’s pretty bogus. Real talk.

      The good news is that not only do we get to vote for the first woman president, and become part of history in the process, but in the process we will also roll back all of the Bush initiatives that put so many black men in jail. She and Bill have been very vocal about the overincarceration of POCs. It’s finally time for some common sense prison reform. It’s finally time for a woman president. It’s Hillary time.

      And if that ain’t enough, you seen our girl’s resume? Lit af.

      Reply
      <
  • Read More
    LynxClover Hope
    6/29/16 12:26pm

    Most of these cases are complaint-driven.

    And your racist neighbor is more likely to make a compliant about you just for existing. Urgh.

    Reply
    <
    • Read More
      EileenOnSundayNightsAfterAllInTheFamilyOnCBSLynx
      6/29/16 12:33pm

      Except it’s likely to be a neighbor who looks just like you but is tired of you and your fucked up friends partying loudly while smoking out.

      It’s more likely an age thing than a race thing. Because I’ll call the cops on some ignorant acting teens in a SECOND even if they look like me.

      Reply
      <
    • Read More
      rslwnEileenOnSundayNightsAfterAllInTheFamilyOnCBS
      6/29/16 12:37pm

      So the article is literally all about the racial disparity in arrests for underage consumption, though? Let’s review:

      But the marijuana arrest rate for white 10- to 17-year-olds fell by nearly 10 percent from 2012 to 2014, while arrest rates for Latino and black youths respectively rose more than 20 percent and more than 50 percent.

      So it’s not a youth thing. It’s a race thing.

      Reply
      <
  • Read More
    rslwnClover Hope
    6/29/16 12:27pm

    Wowwwwwwwww, it’s almost as if pot legalization was a libertarian red herring that didn’t have any actual effect on disproportionate arrests of people of color, who could have guessssssssed

    GIF

    ETA: to be clear I am in favor of pot legalization, but the way it is touted by centrist politicians as a way to reduce racial injustice (instead of, you know, actual racial justice measures) is yawn blaaaaaaaaaahh okay whatever.

    Reply
    <
    • Read More
      EvanrudeJohnsonrslwn
      6/29/16 12:50pm

      it’s almost as if pot legalization was a libertarian red herring that didn’t have any actual effect on disproportionate arrests of people of color.

      What about all the people of color who are of legal age to possess reefer who are no longer getting arrested. So that part is not a red herring. A few 12 years olds are getting ticketed, but massive amounts of people 21 and over don’t have to worry about arrest for smoking a relatively harmless substance.

      Reply
      <
    • Read More
      Non-Compliantrslwn
      6/29/16 12:52pm

      Colorado did it completely wrong because they didn’t account for how laws are applied unequally by race, and just assumed changing the law was enough. While it’s fair to prevent marijuana use by teens, since frequent marijuana use has a negative impact on people below 25, it doesn’t need to be criminalized. At most, an adult selling to teens should be arrested, but teens using, possessing, or selling to one another should not be arrested. They can take measures to prevent teens from using marijuana, like education and access to mental/physical health services (in cases of addiction or self-medication), but punishing teens for doing something that’s bad for them, by doing something bad to them, only makes things worse. Plus, if the teens are using it only on occassion and it’s not a habit, it can be used safely recreationally and medicinally. Educating teens about these facts, rather than forcing them into a corrupt criminal justice system, is an obvious answer.

      Reply
      <
  • Read More
    Clover HopeClover Hope
    6/29/16 1:09pm

    Meanwhile:

    California OKs Recreational Marijuana Ballot Measure For November

    Reply
    <
    • Read More
      Mental IcebergClover Hope
      6/29/16 1:15pm

      Jesus. I’m still waiting for Pennsylvania to come out of the stone ages.

      We are just now able to buy beer in supermarkets.

      Reply
      <
    • Read More
      Iron Sausage EveningClover Hope
      6/29/16 1:41pm

      I was recently in northern California and let me just say...from what I saw, regulating and taxing legal, recreational pot has the potential to bring in A LOT of revenue for the state. Like, massive hoop houses full of revenue.

      Reply
      <
  • Read More
    CaptOtterClover Hope
    6/29/16 1:03pm

    Because I doubt there are any rules or laws that say, “it is a crime for black and latino people to profit legally from cannabis”, I’m assumign the lack of entrepeneurs of color in this market is the result of the disparate impact of other rules and regulations.

    So, besides the disproportionate rate at which black and latinos are incarcerted versus incarceration rates for white people, does anyone know what offhand what other socioeconomic factors are having a disparate impact on blacks and latinos’ ability to start legal weed business?

    Reply
    <
    • Read More
      SheeshTheseNamesCaptOtter
      6/29/16 1:15pm

      Ridiculous regulations and high startup costs that are easier for white people to navigate. Rules that say you can’t have any drug convictions on your record.

      Reply
      <
    • Read More
      Collin ChristopherCaptOtter
      6/29/16 1:34pm

      Well, until only recently, banks would not participate in any way with the medical or recreational weed markets, which meant no business loans. So, if you were going to start a weed business, you had to have the cash to do it. Between acquiring retail space, construction costs, the state licensing fees, the cost of start-up inventory (usually COD, only), paying staff, and other associated costs, you’re looking at hundreds of thousands of dollars in startup costs.

      If you’re black or latino, statistically speaking, you’re less likely to have access to those kind of liquid assets than a white person.

      Reply
      <
  • Read More
    Mike Pipper Super GIF EnthusiastClover Hope
    6/29/16 12:28pm
    GIF
    Reply
    <
    • Read More
      HerRoyalRednessMike Pipper Super GIF Enthusiast
      6/29/16 11:10pm
      GIF
      Reply
      <
  • Read More
    Global BeetClover Hope
    6/29/16 12:41pm

    “Most of these cases are complaint-driven. We get a complaint from someone, we’re not sure where it’s going to take us, but we have to act on it. And we’re not sure, if I get a call to a residence or to a location, who I’m going to encounter until I get there.”

    And that’s a large part of modern day racism in a nut shell. Everyone’s bigoted (white) grandma sees black kid walking in neighborhood, calls police, police show up, and kill and or accost black teenager. Whether it be a white person calling the cops after just seeing a black person, to cops perceiving a threat when they arrive on the scene, it all stems from the assumption of inherent criminality of blackness. The system is so uneven that something as innocuous as cowardice can literally result in peoples’ deaths, at worst, or at best ruin their lives. And of course this cowardice manifests itself in uneven application of the law.

    And the fustrating thing is, how does one combat this? This isn’t blatant evil like lynching, or marching with the KKK. Dollars to doughnuts, anyone under the age of 35 who reads this site and considers themselves liberal would feel at least moderately uncomfortable if in an elevator with a black stranger and these same people will be the one’s decades from now making the call to police that will result in some black person getting killed. There is no way to combat this sort of subtle prejudice because often times this sort of prejudice is written off as “just staying safe”

    Reply
    <
    • Read More
      festivusaziliClover Hope
      6/29/16 12:48pm

      I’ve been saying this for years. One of the hardest parts about legalization is going to be finding a way to keep some of the benefit (read: $$$) in black communities. Hasn’t happened yet, and this is just a sad reminder that they aren’t even getting the full benefit of decreased criminal penalties, much less the business opportunities.

      Reply
      <
      • Read More
        BDCBfestivusazili
        6/29/16 12:58pm

        IN other wards, now it's like other sorts of businesses that won't/can't set up in poor areas.

        Reply
        <
      • Read More
        festivusaziliBDCB
        6/29/16 1:05pm

        True. It just seems worse to me because there are a lot of poor people and black people that are already selling drugs. They’re just doing it illegally. Even as we shift to a regulated market, they still have to operate illegally because they can’t afford or access the permits and whatnot necessary to do it openly.

        Reply
        <
    • Read More
      BDCBClover Hope
      6/29/16 12:53pm

      Christ, just have the cops swipe the inventory and tell the kids to run along.

      Reply
      <
      • Read More
        CaliforlifeClover Hope
        6/29/16 1:52pm

        Random white comment person: but, but, the statistics show blacks are criminals! Yeah, and here’s why. Cops arrest black/brown folk for doing exactly what their same-aged white counterparts do. This is why. This is WHY, dammit!

        Reply
        <