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Report finds that Blacks were disproportionately cited for weed use in Seattle.

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Slayven

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http://blogs.seattletimes.com/pot/2014/07/23/blacks-disproportionately-fined-for-public-pot-use/

In a report required by the City Council, the police department said officers wrote 82 tickets for public pot consumption in the first half of the year, with 37 percent of those going to to black people.

Blacks account for 8 percent of the Seattle population, according to 2010 census figures; 50 percent of the tickets went to whites, who represent 70 percent of the city’s residents.

Racially disproportionate enforcement of marijuana laws is one of the chief arguments used by advocates for legalizing pot. A national study by the ACLU found that 3.7 blacks were arrested for every white on pot charges. Survey data from the U.S. Public Health Service shows that blacks and whites consume pot at nearly the same rates; in 2010, 14 percent of blacks and 12 percent of whites reported using pot in the previous year.

The police study found that 99 percent of all public-use tickets were issued for infractions in the West Precinct, primarily in Victor Steinbrueck Park, Westlake Park, Occidental Park and downtown streets. The tickets come with a $27 fine. Just 6 percent of the 82 fines have been paid, according to police.
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Outlier or business as usual?
 
It is legal to use here, but the rules are the same as alcohol. That ticket is pretty much the same ticket what you would get for drinking beer in a public park or something.
 
I don't mean to say "no shit, Sherlock" - but no shit, Sherlock. The drug war's used as a vector for racism.
 
But I am black and this has never happened to me! I wish my fellow negroes would stop making everything about race.
A cop said that cops don't profile minorities at all so it must be true!
White people, make sure you use my personal anecdote to dismiss other black people when they say things like this happen.
 
I'm pretty sure those cops are just insane doing their job assholes classist only seeing the Human Race(tm) and not racist, guise. Come on now.
 
I heard about this on NPR. Apparently it was one cop who really hated MJ that wrote the majority of the tickets.
 
Fuckin' weak. This is why legalizing this shit is imperative though; injustice on the scale of $27 is less a crisis than felony charges. And they only issued 82 citations total.

So: hey this fucking sucks. But: at least it doesn't suck as hard as it could.
 
Only saw two people getting cited (I think? at least an officer was talking with them) while on vacation in Seattle last month for almost a week.

Both for smoking, both right outside the Westlake Station entrance.

Never saw people being cited for smoking around my hotel and the dog park across the street just a few blocks away.
 
the black man's lungs do not absorb weedsmoke as efficiently as the whites, and in conjunction with their more animalistic features and aggressive demeanor, results in comparative over-consumption and thus a higher propensity for engagement by law enforcement. nothing racist about it.
 
Enzom21 said:
But I am black and this has never happened to me! I wish my fellow negroes would stop making everything about race.
A cop said that cops don't profile minorities at all so it must be true!
White people, make sure you use my personal anecdote to dismiss other black people when they say things like this happen.
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pretty good Jesse Lee Peterson imitation.
 
Brakke said:
Fuckin' weak. This is why legalizing this shit is imperative though; injustice on the scale of $27 is less a crisis than felony charges. And they only issued 82 citations total.

So: hey this fucking sucks. But: at least it doesn't suck as hard as it could.
Click to expand...

That is the struggle of minorities. Make tomorrow suck less than it did today.
 
sulik said:
I heard about this on NPR. Apparently it was one cop who really hated MJ that wrote the majority of the tickets.
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Lmao, I'd love to get into this guy's head. Gets up in the morning burning with hatred of stoners, dons his Anti-Weed Avenger cape on his way out the door to go on the prowl. His mission: to single-handedly wipe out public marijuana use in
neighborhoods which (completely by chance) happen to be primarily black in
Seattle.
 
The veteran officer, who was assigned to the West Precinct Bike Unit, personally wrote 66 of the 83 marijuana citations handed out this year, O'Toole said.

In addition to his reassignment, the officer is also the subject of an investigation by the Office of Professional Accountability, will "which review the officer's conduct and professionalism."

In many cases, O'Toole said the officer added notes on the tickets requesting the attention of Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes. Holmes, who has been a vocal supporter of marijuana legalization, is referred to in many of the tickets as "Petey Holmes."
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http://www.komonews.com/news/local/...r-busting-too-many-pot-smokers-269302871.html
 
rhfb said:
Only saw two people getting cited (I think? at least an officer was talking with them) while on vacation in Seattle last month for almost a week.

Both for smoking, both right outside the Westlake Station entrance.

Never saw people being cited for smoking around my hotel and the dog park across the street just a few blocks away.
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Yeah, I have friends that smoke weed in public regularly and I don't think they've ever been in any danger of a citation.

someday said:
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/...r-busting-too-many-pot-smokers-269302871.html

Yep, and it was mostly one guy writing 80% of the tickets.
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From the article:

The veteran officer, who was assigned to the West Precinct Bike Unit, personally wrote 66 of the 83 marijuana citations handed out this year, O'Toole said.

In addition to his reassignment, the officer is also the subject of an investigation by the Office of Professional Accountability, will "which review the officer's conduct and professionalism."

In many cases, O'Toole said the officer added notes on the tickets requesting the attention of Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes. Holmes, who has been a vocal supporter of marijuana legalization, is referred to in many of the tickets as "Petey Holmes."

In a statement released Wednesday night, Holmes said he's grateful that O'Toole is looking into the matter.

"I am personally very sorry that apparently a significant number of homeless individuals were inconvenienced by an officer's apparent attempt to get at me. But I'm really sorry that our citizens were unnecessarily inconvenienced," the statement reads.

In one ticket, the officer wrote that he found two people smoking marijuana and made them flip a coin to decide which person would be cited.

"(Suspect) lost the coin flip so he got the ticket while the other person walked. (suspect) was allowed to keep his pipe," the ticket reads.

In another ticket, the officer refers to Washington's voter-enacted changes to marijuana laws as "silly," according to O'Toole.

An analysis released last month found that homeless people and African American males were more likely to be ticketed for public pot use than anyone else.
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I bet this dude doesn't even get fired.
 
Enzom21 said:
But I am black and this has never happened to me! I wish my fellow negroes would stop making everything about race. A cop said that cops don't profile minorities at all so it must be true! White people, make sure you use my personal anecdote to dismiss other black people when they say things like this happen.
Click to expand...
Nigga, you ain't black. You Spanish. But,
you obviously don't know how offensive that word is, so I'll give you a pass. It's perfectly fine.
 
cdyhybrid said:
Yeah, I have friends that smoke weed in public regularly and I don't think they've ever been in any danger of a citation.
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I'm thinking a tourist flagged down the officer and complained about them. It might have even been a transit person, didn't gawk, just walked back to my hotel room.

The various groups smoking around that McDonalds never bothered me the multiple times I was in and out of the station during my stay.
 
freenudemacusers said:
the black man's lungs do not absorb weedsmoke as efficiently as the whites, and in conjunction with their more animalistic features and aggressive demeanor, results in comparative over-consumption and thus a higher propensity for engagement by law enforcement. nothing racist about it.
Click to expand...

damn straight!

lmao
 
I am surprised that blacks smoked weed at a slightly higher rate, anecdotal evidence as well as other studies I read suggested otherwise.
 
Hackworth said:
Cops are racist, news at eleven.
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Frist of all how dare yo u.

My father was a cop and he isn't racist. How dare you say "cops are racist." You need to modify that statement to say "the actions of cops as an organized group seem to be racist if we analyze their behavior and actions." Otherwise I'll blow a gasket because I am incapable of understanding that people mean the latter when they generalize and say "fuck the cops."
 
This might be the first time I've seen 'get at me' used in an official government statement.

Also, one cop writing 80% of the citations? He must have spotted NYPD scouts on his beat.
 
clearly racism doesn't exist anymore in america, everyone is treated fairly!

it just so happens all the black people are the bad ones!
 
Maybe they were dressed like thugs guys. We don't have all the facts so we shouldn't be so quick to assume the cops were racist or that race had anything to do with the disproportionate tickets being written against black smokers. I've seen some black guys in Seattle and they're pretty aggressive when they're high so maybe that's why they were arrested. My uncle is a cop and he isn't like this; so you could understand why I'm slightly miffed at this article. They should question the cops who did this and see why as I'm sure it's all a misunderstanding. For all we know they might have had priors or something; people in America are so quick to make things about race and that's part of the problem. Every time you bring up something being racist it sets the country back. Honestly we shouldn't be questioning the cops, but rather looking at black culture as a whole and usurping it's influence over the black youth. You guys can be social justice warriors if you want, but I'm waiting for more information before I form an opinion.
 
But nope, I fail to see the life hack here. Maybe the black people are wearing hoodies? And if there is a video theres probably 5 minutes missing. Its not racism tho.
 
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