The New York Times: Surest Way to Face Marijuana Charges in New York: Be Black or Hispanic

No matter what reforms have been implemented or heralded, the racial disparities in marijuana arrests have persisted. Though black and white people use marijuana at roughly the same rate, black people were arrested on low-level marijuana charges at eight times the rate of white people across New York City over the past three years. Hispanic people were arrested at five times the rate of white people.

“What you have is people smoking weed in the same places in any neighborhood in the city,” said Scott Levy, Special Counsel to the Criminal Defense Practice, to The New York Times. “It’s just those neighborhoods are patrolled very, very differently. And the people in those neighborhoods are seen very differently by the police.”

Read the piece here.