International Journal on Criminology Volume 6, Number 2, Winter 2018/Spring 2019 | Page 33

International Journal on Criminology
Legalization and Race
Many groups in the United States have highlighted the racial dimension
of the “war on drugs,” noting the overrepresentation of
the black community in the prison system and an arrest rate for
cannabis possession that is nearly four times higher than the rate
for white people. The decrease in arrests for cannabis possession
following legalization is therefore an objective improvement for
the black community, though before 2012 in Colorado arrest rates
were significantly lower than the national average. However, today,
among the segment of users who continue to be arrested, in particular
minors, significant disparities continue to be found.
In the case of Colorado, the data relating to arrests of juveniles
(10-17-year-olds) for marijuana-related crimes covering the year
2015 show that the number of Caucasians arrested decreased by
8 percent, while it increased by 58 percent among African-Americans
and 29 percent among Hispanics (CDPS 2016). A report by
the Drug Policy Alliance that looked at all population segments
estimated that in Colorado in 2014—that is, the beginning of the
regulation process—African-Americans were still five times more
likely to be arrested for dealing than Caucasians were and 2.4 times
more likely to be arrested for possession and growing. 22 Moreover,
with respect to investment in the flourishing legal industry, a number
of African-American groups have complained about the underrepresentation
of the black community in this sector, highlighting
the discriminatory nature of the requirement of a clean criminal
record to obtain a license to open a production unit or a store.
Conclusion
Although it is probably still too early to make definitive statements about the
impact that cannabis legalization has had on crime (including organized
crime) in Colorado, the first available data shows that the hopes placed in
new regulation policies aimed at significantly weakening criminal organizations,
and in particular Mexican cartels and gangs, have been partly dashed. Drawing on
the considerable financial strength that they have developed over the decades, and
22 Drug Policy Alliance, Marijuana Legalization in Colorado after One Year of Retail Sales and Two
Years of Decriminalization (New York: Drug Policy Alliance, 2015).
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