by R. Asmerom
There’s nothing more tragic than seeing someone’s life going down the drain because of a mistake. That’s what can happen and has happened many times for black youth who were caught with marijuana. That’s why California’s NAACP has taken a strong stance in support of decriminalizing the use of marijuana, citing it as a civil rights issue for African-Americans. They are publicly supporting Prop 19, which is a California measure on the November ballot that seeks to allow recreational marijuana use.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle “the president of the state NAACP, Alice Huffman, said the current prohibition on marijuana has led to the criminalizing of young people and consequently has hampered the ability of many African Americans to prosper.”
The NAACP is referencing a study by the Drug Policy Alliance which found that, among other things, blacks are arrested for marijuana possession at up to quadruple the rate of whites although U.S. government studies show that white youth use marijuana at higher rates than black youth.
More often than not, the NAACP is criticized for not taking up worthwhile issues but even if this measure is not passed in California, the organization has taken a wise and strategic opportunity to expose the damaging connection between drug policy and the health of the black community.
