Study: Blacks Disproportionately Arrested For Drug Possession Violations In Washington, DC
Washington, DC: African Americans in the District of Columbia are arrested for illicit drug offenses at significantly higher rates than those of other ethnicities, according to an analysis of non-juvenile arrests for the years 2009 to 2011 by the Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs.
The report, entitled 'Racial Disparities in Arrests in the District of Columbia, 2009-2011: Implications for Civil Rights and Criminal Justice in the Nation's Capital,' found that African Americans comprised nearly 90 percent of all District drug possession arrests. District police made far fewer drug possession arrests in neighborhoods that consisted of mostly white residents than they did in neighborhoods that consisted of mostly black residents. By contrast, survey data shows little disparity in overall illicit drug use rates among whites and blacks residing in the District.
Marijuana arrests were the most commonly reported illicit drug arrest the study found. Under Washington, DC law, simple marijuana possession is classified as a criminal misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.
A previous study by the American Civil Liberties Union, released in June, reported that nationwide blacks are approximately four times as likely as whites to be arrested for marijuana possession offenses.
Authors of the latest study recommend that District policymakers make it "an immediate priority" to consider decriminalizing or legalizing certain illicit substances, including cannabis.
Legislation is presently pending before the DC Council that would reduce the penalties for marijuana possession offenses involving up to one ounce of marijuana to a $100 civil violation. Nine of the 13 members of the Council are co-sponsoring the measure.
Survey data released in April by Public Policy Polling reported that 75 percent of DC voters favor such a change in law.
For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director, or Erik Altieri, NORML Communications Director, at (202) 483-5500.
Full text of the report is available online at: https://www.washlaw.org
Study: Marijuana Use Associated With Decreased Symptoms Of Opiate Withdrawal In Subjects Undergoing Methadone Treatment
Philadelphia, PA: The use of cannabis is associated with mitigated symptoms of opiate withdrawal in subjects undergoing methadone maintenance treatment, according to a data published online in The American Journal on Addictions.
Investigators at the Farber Institute for Neurosciences at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia assessed the use of cannabis in 91 opiate-dependent subjects undergoing methadone maintenance treatment.
Researchers found that subjects seeking methadone treatment who acknowledged a history of cannabis use reported "significantly less daily expenditure on acquisition of opiates."
Authors additionally reported that subjects' use of cannabis during treatment was associated with less severe symptoms of withdrawal on the clinical opiate withdrawal scale (COWS), an index designed to serve as an objective measure of opiate withdrawal. "[I]ncreased cannabis use was found to be associated with lower severity of [opiate] withdrawal in a subset of the sample with available chart data," authors wrote. "These results suggested a potential role for cannabis in the reduction of withdrawal severity during methadone induction."
They concluded, "The present findings may point to novel interventions to be employed during treatment for opiate dependence that specifically target cannabinoid-opioid system interactions."
A 2009 study, also published in The American Journal on Addictions, reported that moderate cannabis use improved retention in naltrexone treatment among opiate-dependent subjects.
Full text of the study, "Impact of cannabis use during stabilization on methadone maintenance treatment," appears online in The American Journal on Addictions.
Maine: Portland Voters To Decide This Fall On Marijuana Depenalization Measure
Portland, ME: Portland voters will decide on a municipal initiative this fall that seeks to eliminate penalties citywide for adult residents who possess small quantities of cannabis and/or marijuana paraphernalia.
Sponsors of the measure, Citizens for a Safer Portland, collected over 2,500 certified signatures from Portland voters in support of the plan. Members of the Portland City Council on Monday voted 5 to 1 to place the measure on a citywide ballot this fall.
Passage of the measure would eliminate civil penalties for adults who possess up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis and/or cannabis paraphernalia within city limits. Public consumption of the substance would remain a punishable offense.
Under present state law, the possession of 2.5 ounces of marijuana or less is classified as a civil offense punishable by a fine of up to $600.
Portland voters will decide the measure on November 5, 2013.
Visit: https://www.facebook.com/SensiblePortland.
