Student presentation examines racial disparities in cannabis enforcement and reform’s impact

As recent noted, March is when students in my Marijuana Law, Policy & Reform seminar “take over” my class through presentations on the research topics of their choice.  Before their presentations, students are expected to provide here some background on their topic. The second of our presentations taking place in class this week will be exploring “Racial Disparity in Marijuana Law Enforcement and the Impact of Legalization.” Here is how my student has described her topic along with some links she provided:

My presentation, Racial Disparity in Marijuana Law Enforcement and the Impact of Legalization, explores the existence and implications of racial disparity in marijuana-related arrests and convictions.  This exploration begins with a brief overview of racial disparity, including a couple statistics to portray the true difference in race-based marijuana arrests and convictions.  We will then walk through a quick history of marijuana law, highlighting the deep roots that racial biases play in the push for harsher drug laws.  We will move to the effects that marijuana arrests and convictions have on an individual before examining factors today that contribute to the racial disparities.  After that, we will move on to legalization efforts in today’s political climate and the impact that such legalization has on racial disparities.  The presentation wraps up with a brief analysis of current proposed social equity efforts aimed to correct the racial disparities, highlighting the current debates in Ohio’s proposed laws.

Backround:

1. ACLU commentary, “Marijuana Legalization Is a Racial Justice Issue” (2019)

2. ACLU report, “A Tale of Two Countries: Racially Targeted Arrests in the Era of Marijuana Reform” (2020)

3. Brookings commentary, “Marijuana’s racist history shows the need for comprehensive drug reform” (2020)

4. NORML fact sheet, “Racial Disparity In Marijuana Arrests“