National Black Police Association Endorses Marijuana Legalization

The National Black Police Association (NBPA) has announced that they will endorse proposition 19 a Californian bill which supports the legalisation of marijuana. The new legislation would allow people over the age of 21 to grow marijuana and possess up to an ounce. 

A recent poll amongst likely to voters suggests that 50% are certain to vote yes on prop 19, compared to 40% who are against the motion. The organisation (NBPA) is currently holding its 38th national conference in Sacramento and is attempting to gain support for a yes vote, in anticipation of the November 2nd poll. 

Veteran officer and executive director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) Neil Franklin, stated "When I was a cop in Baltimore, and even before that when I was growing up there, I saw with my own eyes the devastating impact these misguided marijuana laws have on our communities and neighbourhoods. But it's not just in Baltimore, or in Los Angeles; prohibition takes a toll on people of colour across the country." Franklin went on to claim that "this November, with the National Black Police Association's help, Californians finally have an opportunity to do something about it by approving the initiative to control and tax marijuana."     

The NBPA have been able to mobilise support from LEAP and also civil rights organisations such as the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NACCP). The overriding concern from both organisations is not only the ineptitude of current laws regarding marijuana but also the disparity between arrest and incarceration of African Americans caught with marijuana.

The police association’s executive director Ron Hampton said that ““We’ve got more people in prison. We’ve got more young people in prison. Blacks go to jail more than whites for doing the same thing.” The NACCP support behind the bill has been fuelled by a report from the Drug Policy Alliance, an advocate of legalisation, released a report showing African Americans represent 22% of marijuana arrests even though they are less than 7% of the population. 

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) is an organisation comprised of police, prosecutors, judges, FBI agents and others who want to legalize and regulate drugs. This is in light of their respective experiences fighting on the front lines of the "war on drugs" and realising that prohibition only serves to worsen addiction and violence.