Decriminalization reduces racial disparities

Findings from a new study suggest that cannabis decriminalization policies are reducing racial disparities in drug arrests.

The racial gap between blacks and whites in cannabis-related crimes has been widely reported over the years.

Blacks are disproportionately more likely than whites to be arrested for possession of cannabis.

Researchers at the University of California at San Diego have tried to assess whether decriminalization can reduce racial disparities in arrests for cannabis possession.

The study, which was published in the peer-reviewed academic journal Social Science & Medicine, took into account data from the FBI Uniform Crime Report from 37 US states from 2000 to 2019.

The results show that arrest rates for cannabis possession decreased by over 70% in adults and over 40% in adolescents after cannabis was decriminalized in 11 states.

Racial differences among adults decreased by 17% in terms of arrest rates between blacks and whites. However, there was no evidence of a reduction in the racial gap between black and white youth after decriminalization.

The researchers' data analysis suggests that the decriminalization of cannabis has been linked to a decrease in arrest rates among blacks and whites.

When assessing the causes of such a decline, researchers found limited evidence of a link between medical cannabis laws and arrest rates for cannabis possession. In contrast, recreational cannabis laws appear to be one of the key drivers behind the decline.

The researchers stressed that although legal regulations on decriminalization differ from state to state, potentially leading to different policy implications, the overall decline in arrest rates shows the positive effects of decriminalization of cannabis on racial differences.

"The decriminalization of cannabis seemed particularly beneficial for blacks, who have suffered most from the negative consequences of criminal penalties. Overall, we recommend decriminalization of cannabis as an option to cannabis liberalization for public health lawmakers and researchers needs to be reconsidered, especially in states dealing with the unintended consequences and implementation costs of legalizing medicinal and recreational cannabis, "the study said.

Researchers found no link between laws legalizing recreational cannabis and racial differences in arrest rates. However, they noted that this lack of evidence was due to the fact that many states included in the study regulated cannabis for recreational use following a decriminalization process. Because of this, researchers failed to consider the potential impact of legalization on racial differences in drug arrests.

Also, most states legalized cannabis after 2016, while the analysis period ended in 2019. As a result, researchers did not have the data they needed to examine the impact of legalization on racial disparities in drug arrest rates.

Researchers were unable to assess whether the decline in racial differences in adults was due to individual behavior related to cannabis possession or to behavioral changes among law enforcement officers.

"It is possible that law enforcement behavior has not changed: after decriminalization, blacks may still be stopped, questioned or searched for cannabis possession more often than whites It is also possible that blacks were more likely to respond to decriminalization by possessing less cannabis than whites, which was below the threshold for the lowest criminality level, ”the study says.

In December 2021, 18 states legalized cannabis for recreational use. Although laws vary from state to state, most cannabis legalization laws place great emphasis on creating social programs to rehabilitate communities affected by the war on drugs.

According to the Drug Policy Alliance, over a million people were arrested for drug law violations in 2020. Most of them were only charged with drug possession. Blacks made up 24% of those arrested, although the black community only makes up 13% of the total US population.

The number of cannabis-related arrests in 2020 exceeded 350,000. These and other studies reconfirm that decriminalizing and regulating cannabis plays an important role in reducing racial differences.