Dallas’ Black Population Faces Much Higher Odds of Arrest for Marijuana than Whites

Source: Dallas’ Black Population Faces Much Higher Odds of Arrest for Marijuana than Whites

You can tell who the politically powerless are by who gets arrested for petty bullshit, like simple pot possession. Actually, I shouldn’t say “simple” pot possession. The conservative brain trust in Austin has fought attempts to decriminalize marijuana in the past, so ANY USABLE AMOUNT of weed in Texas is a class B misdemeanor with a punishment range that even most prosecutors are embarrassed by (up to 6 months in county, seriously.)

In Texas our criminal justice is known for targeting minorities and the poor, and that starts with who we arrest. The Dallas Observer highlights what most defense lawyers already know, the cops arrest blacks for petty bullshit at a greater % than whites. But don’t say anyone in the system is racist, or people get offended.

The Observer also provides a nice map of Dallas showing the safest areas to get stoned in Big D also happen to be areas that are a little more white.

But all this data begs the question, why should we arrest anyone, of any race, for pot possession? It’s embarrassing that in twenty-fucking-sixteen we are still talking about this, like the next pot arrest will win the drug war. Until then, if you are going to get high in Dallas, try not to be black.