Institutional Racism In The Discretionary Legalization Of Marijuana

The purpose of this study is to enhance the understanding of institutional racism in the regulation of marijuana, identifying the role of state-level regulation as a more subtle form that facilitates the case-level discriminatory policing and adjudication already identified in the literature. Discretionary legalization of marijuana allows racist electorates and legislators to continue established practices of discretionary arrest and conviction for marijuana of discriminated racial groups, leaving white residents free from police scrutiny and enforcement. The study analyzes population data to identify patterns of legalization, racial composition and policing methods among the 50 United States. The results showed evidence of systemic institutional racism in the state-level discretionary legalization of marijuana, causing Black Americans to be increasingly more likely than White Americans to live where marijuana is illegal. States that maintain prohibition also tend to have traditionally higher racial disparities in marijuana arrest rates. The results strongly suggest that a federated system of marijuana regulation will be inherently racist, and that laws for enforcing drug usage must be universally applied to all states. The authors recommend policies providing constitutionally protected rights for adults to consume substances found to have acceptable potential consequences for abuse and health problems, of which research has shown marijuana to have.