Text Size
Smaller
Bigger
Marijuana Legalization

Californian NAACP Offers Support to Marijuana Legalization Measure

posted 12:43 AM EST, Thu July 01, 2010
-- filed under: |

Calling this a civil rights issue, the California charter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) has announced its support of a ballot measure that, if passed, could mean the legalization of up to an ounce of marijuana for personal consumption.

In explaining the organization’s rationale for supporting legalized marijuana, California NAACP Charter president Alice Huffman called marijuana arrests a civil rights issue and pointed to a wide gap in arrest rates between white and black Californians for non serious marijuana crimes.

She argued that at present, these laws are used to persecute minorities and said, "Justice is the quality of being just and fair and these laws have been neither just nor fair…This is not a war on the drug lords, this is a war against young men and women of color. Once a young person is arrested and brought under the justice system, he or she is more likely to get caught in the criminal justice system again, further wasting tax dollars."

Although federal survey data indicates that black people between the ages of 18 and 25 use marijuana less frequently than white people from the same age group, black people in the 25 largest counties in California are as much as 4 times more likely to get arrested on a marijuana crime.

Voters will decide the ballot measure in November. Should the marijuana legalization measure meet with voter support:

  • Up to an ounce of marijuana would be legal for personal consumption
  • California residents could grow marijuana in gardens for personal use
  • Individual jurisdictions could decide whether or not to allow marijuana sales
Subscribe Subscribe to this topic category
Story Highlights
  • Legalize Marijuana: NAACP says that black people are unfairly targeted for marijuana arrest and so the organization backs a Nov. ballot measure to legalize the drug.
Creative Commons License
Copyright Notice
We welcome republishing of our content on condition that you credit Choose Help and the respective authors. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
Helpful Information
70 Reasons to Quit a Heavy Marijuana Habit
70 Reasons Why Life is Better without a Heavy Marijuana Habit © Bingbing
Thinking about giving up marijuana but not sure you’re ready to take the plunge? Well, here are 70 benefits of quitting – all first-hand accounts from previously heavy users about how life changes for the better once you don’t need to get high all the time. Read Article
Addictions April 20, 2012 (574)
Marijuana Detox: Coping with Withdrawal Symptoms How to get past the first 2 weeks of marijuana withdrawal symptoms. Learn what to expect from marijuana withdrawal, with tips and suggestions for coping with individual withdrawal symptoms. Read Article
Detox November 20, 2015 (342)

This website is certified by Health On the Net Foundation. This site complies with the HONcode standard for trustworthy health information.

Find Treatment
Browse by region »
Scan to call us
using your phone camera app