Black people are disproportionately arrested for marijuana possession in nearly every town in the Garden State, according to a new report by the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey.
The report, “Unequal & Unfair: NJ’s War on Marijuana Users,” notes that blacks make up about 14 percent of the state’s population, but in 2013 they made up 36 percent of those arrested for marijuana possession — an increase from 29 percent in the year 2000.
The South Jersey communities with the biggest racial disparities for marijuana, according to the report based on 2013 data, are: Haddon Heights, where black people were nearly 22 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than white people, the sixth-highest in New Jersey; and Mount Ephraim, which ranked seventh-highest at a rate of 21 times more likely. Other tri-county towns in the top 50 were Medford, Pitman, Harrison, Cherry Hill, Stratford, Waterford, Evesham, Riverside, Deptford and Burlington City.
Racial disparities in 2013: Check your town
Racially uneven arrests happen all over the state. And it’s getting worse, according to the report.
“The war on marijuana is a war on marijuana users, and it’s disproportionately a war on black communities,” ACLU-NJ interim Executive Director Diane Du Brule said in a statement.
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The group contends the data shows why New Jersey should legalize the recreational use of marijuana. A hearing was held Monday in Trenton on a proposed bill that would legalize the use of marijuana for adults.
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In 2013, the disparities rose to their highest level, when black people in New Jersey were three times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than white people, despite similar usage rates, according to the report. In 2000, black people were 2.2 times more likely to be arrested than white people.
Blacks are disproportionately arrested for marijuana possession in every county in New Jersey.
“New Jersey’s marijuana laws are failing people of color,” said Richard Smith, who is president of the NAACP New Jersey State Conference and the warden for Cumberland County Jail. “Our state’s criminal justice system has placed a disproportionate burden on people of color, and ending marijuana prohibition for adults is a start to lifting it.”
The report used the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting data and Census Bureau information.
ACLU-NJ Policy Counsel Dianna Houenou said the disparities have caused a “civil rights crisis” in the state.
“Well over half of all Americans support legalization, but more people are arrested for marijuana possession in our state than ever before,” she said. “The racial disparity in these arrests has only grown.”
Where do you stand on the legalization of marijuana and medical marijuana?
Houenou said an earlier national report by the ACLU on racial disparities in marijuana arrests showed New Jersey ranked 34th in the country, based on 2010 data, meaning 33 other states arrested black people at even greater rates.
Only Hawaii arrested white and black people at an even rate, she said.
But, she said, “that doesn’t mean New Jersey is doing well.”
The biggest racial disparity for pot arrests in New Jersey was recorded in Point Pleasant Beach, according to the report.
But Police Chief Joseph Michigan said it doesn’t matter if you’re black or white in Point Pleasant.
“If you are smoking marijuana in the borough of Point Pleasant Beach regardless of race or gender, you are going to be arrested because it’s against the law in New Jersey,” he said.
New Jersey legalized the medical use of marijuana in 2010, and the state recently added conditions for which patients can get prescriptions allowing them to obtain marijuana.
Gov. Chris Christie has long opposed legalizing the recreational use of the drug in the state.
The proposed bill considered Monday by the New Jersey Senate Judiciary Committee was introduced by Sen. Nicholas Scutari, D-Union. The legislation would permit the possession of small amounts of marijuana. Scutari has said it would generate millions of dollars in tax revenue.
The report’s findings include:
- Marijuana arrests have risen. In 2013, New Jersey law enforcement made 24,067 marijuana possession arrests, 26 percent more than in 2000, when police made 19,607 arrests. Between 2000 and 2013, New Jersey law enforcement agencies made 279,623 small-scale marijuana possession arrests.
- The data do not show Latino arrests since the FBI Uniform Crime Reports used for the ACLU’s report does not distinguish between Latinos and whites.
- Gloucester County had the second highest number of marijuana possession arrests per capita from 2000 to 2013, with 337 per 1,000 people. Camden County was fifth, at 281.
- In Camden County, the towns with the highest per capita marijuana possession arrest rates in 2013 were Haddon Heights, Pine Hill and Berlin; in Burlington County, Bordentown, Burlington Township and Mount Holly; and in Gloucester County, Glassboro, Paulsboro and Pitman.
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