Study: Blacks In One Georgia County Were 97 Times More Likely Than Whites to be Arrested on Marijuana Charges
Two thirds of Americans believe marijuana should be legalized for recreational use nationwide, according to the Pew Research Center. More than 90 percent of the population supports the prospect of either recreational pot or medical cannabis being legalized.
Such numbers suggest a decline in the stigma surrounding pot use, and may lead some to assume there’s also a corresponding downward trend in the drug’s criminalization.
But a recent release by an Ohio law firm blows that notion up in smoke. Brian Joslyn studied the racial disparities in marijuana possession arrests to identify the states and counties with the most significant inequalities in pot busts. He found that Black people were 97.2 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana than whites in Pickens County, Georgia.
Inmates Face Uphill Climb For Virus Outbreak Relief By
Sarah Jarvis | December 20, 2020, 8:02 PM EST
Advocates for inmates across the country say prisons have not taken appropriate measures to protect the incarcerated from the spread of COVID-19. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
At a Texas prison unit housing mostly elderly inmates, COVID-19 has killed more than 20 men and hospitalized nearly 100 so far. Advocates for the prisoners, who accused the state of failing to implement measures to prevent the spread of the virus, are awaiting a Fifth Circuit ruling they hope will help curb the outbreak.
Earlier this month, the Fifth Circuit heard oral arguments on an expedited briefing schedule over whether it should reinstate a permanent injunction requiring the prison to implement a COVID-19 containment protocol. The Fifth Circuit had