,

Marijuana Possession Arrests in Colorado

1986-2010
7,989 8,721 5,932 3,928 3,379 3,206 3,999 4,154 3,972 4,076
1986
PreparedbytheMarijuanaArrestResearchProject,http://marijuanaarrests.com HarryG.Levine,PhD,JonB.Gettman,PhD,LorenSiegel,JDOctober2012 Source:FBIUniformCrimeReports

10,961 12,067

10,493 11,032 11,901 11,687 10,827 10,850 10,299 10,507 9,639

10,084 11,345 8,575

10,705

1987

1988

1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

KeyFindings

MarijuanaPossessionArrestsinColorado

MarijuanapossessionarrestsinColoradoincreasedfrom4,000in1986to over10,000in2010,totaling210,000arrestsoverthepast25years. Inthefiveyearsfrom1986to1990,policeinColoradomade19,400 possessionarrests.Twentyyearslater,from2006to2010,policemade 55,900marijuanapossessionarrests,almostthreetimesasmany. From2001through2010,Coloradopolicemade108,000arrestsfor possessingmarijuana,overwhelminglyofyoungpeople.Morethantwo thirds(69%)ofthosearrestedwere25oryounger,79%were29oryounger, and86%ofthosearrestedwereage34oryounger. Whites,mainlyyoungwhites,madeup63%ofthosearrestedinthelast tenyears.BlacksandLatinos,alsomostlyyoung,were36%ofthearrestees. AlthoughyoungAfricanAmericansandLatinosusemarijuanaatlowerrates thanyoungwhites,inthelasttenyearspoliceinColoradoarrestedLatinosat 1.5timestherateofwhitesandarrestedblacksat3.1timestherateofwhites. Inthelastdecade,blackswere3.8%ofColorado'sresidents,but10.5%ofthe marijuanaarrests.Latinoswere19%ofthestate'sresidents,butaquarter (25%)ofColorado'smarijuanapossessionarrests. Marijuanapossessionarrestscreatecriminalrecordseasilyfoundonthe internetbyemployers,landlords,schools,creditagencies,licensingboards, andbanks,erectingbarrierstoeducation,employment,andhousing. Marijuanapossessionarrestsdonotreduceseriouscrimes,andtheytake policefromothercrimefightingwork. Coloradoisoftensaidtobeamarijuanadecriminalizationstate,butsincethe 1970s,Coloradolawhasmadepossessionofsmallamountsofmarijuanaa crime,aClass2PettyOffense.Failuretoappearincourtasorderedbya summonsisanothercrime,punishablebysixmonthsinjailanda$500fine. Incountycourts,marijuanapossessioncarriesa$100fine.Inmunicipal courts,however,judgescanimposefinesof$300ormore,charge$50per monthinprobationfees,requireregulardrugtesting,andsendpeopleto jailforseveraldaysiftheyhaveusedmarijuana.
2

Marijuana Possession Arrests in Colorado's 20 Largest Counties, 1986-2010

25 YEARS Total # of Marijuana Possession Arrests 1986-2010 10 YEARS Total # of Marijuana Possession Arrests 2001-2010 Average Yearly Arrest Rate for Marijuana Possession per 100,000 of Population 2001-2010

Ten-Year Average of Population 2001-2010

Colorado
Denver Arapahoe El Paso Adams Jefferson Boulder Larimer Mesa Pueblo Weld Douglas Eagle Garfield Broomfield La Plata Montrose Summit Fremont Morgan 20 Largest Counties

210,328
47,742 23,470 22,521 21,635 20,940 11,208 10,597 7,580 7,511 5,704 4,225 2,645 2,553 2,049* 1,566 1,432 1,429 1,091 831

108,196
13,140 11,989 12,277 13,453 14,280 6,460 6,304 4,583 2,769 3,666 2,836 1,336 1,753 2,049 654 734 574 658 525

229
230 205 215 329 290 221 228 343 181 162 115 272 342 435 132 193 224 321 410

4,734,982
600,158 614,677 622,291 441,656 492,316 304,384 294,582 146,723 159,063 247,701 285,320 53,128 56,389 55,889 51,334 41,276 27,994 23,322 15,324

197,324

100,447

229

4,600,816

PreparedbytheMarijuanaArrestResearchProject,http://marijuanaarrests.com Source:FBIUCRUniformCrimeReportsandUSCensus *Note:Only20012010dataavailableforBroomfield October2012

25YearsofMarijuanaPossessionArrests inColoradoandtheirConsequences
___________________________________________________________________
Inthe25yearsfrom1986to2010,policeandsheriffs'departmentsinColorado made210,000arrestsforthecrimeofpossessingsmallamountsofmarijuana.Duringthis time,Colorado'smarijuanapossessionarrestswentfrom4,000to10,500peryear.Inthe fiveyearsfrom1986to2010,policemade19,400arrests.Twentyyearslater,from2006 to2010,policemade55,900marijuanapossessionarrests,almostthreetimesasmany.1 AccordingtothemostrecentdatafromtheFederalBureauofInvestigationand itsUniformCrimeReports,policemade108,000ofthesearrestsinthedecadespanning 2001to2010.Sixtyfivethousandpossessionarrestsweremadeinthestate'sfivemost populouscountiesJefferson(14,280),Adams(13,453),Denver(13,140),ElPaso (12,277),andArapahoe(11,989).Coloradoarrestspeopleformarijuanapossessionata higherratethan24otherstates.23 Coloradoisoftensaidtobeamarijuanadecriminalizationstate,butsincethe 1970s,whenthestatereducedcriminalpenaltiestosomeextent,Coloradolawhas madepossessionofsmallamountsofmarijuanaacrime,aClass2PettyOffense.A personchargedwithpossessingmarijuanaisissuedasummonstoappearincriminal court.Thecourtappearanceismandatoryandfailuretoappearisanothercrime,a Class3Misdemeanor,punishablebysixmonthsinjailanda$500fine.4Fromthe1970s until2010,thisappliedtolessthananounce;since2010ithasappliedtolessthantwo ounces.5Itwouldbeamistaketothinkthatthesearrestsdonotcarrysignificant consequencesforthethousandsofmostlyyoungColoradanswhogothroughthe arrest,prosecution,andsentencingprocesseveryyear. AClass2PettyOffenseinColoradoisacriminalchargehandledbybothcounty andmunicipalcriminalcourtswhichhaveoverlappingjurisdiction.6Policedepartments havediscretionastowhethertheychargeunderstateormunicipallaw,andinsome municipalcourtsmarijuanapossessionispunishedmoreharshlythanincountycourts wherestatelawapplies.InthecityofLakewood,forexample,possessionofasmall amountofmarijuanacanbepunishableby$1,000andoneyearinjail.7Inmanycities, municipalcourtstypicallyimposefinesof$300ormoreforafirsttimemarijuana possessioncharge.Itisnotunusualformunicipaljudgestoplacepeopleonprobation foruptosixmonths,chargethem$50permonthinprobationfees,requirethatthey meetwithaprobationofficer,andsubmittoregulardrugtesting.8Somejudgessend peopletojailforseveraldaysforfailingadrugtestformarijuana.9

Themostseriousconsequenceofanarrestformarijuanapossessionisthe

permanentcriminalrecordthatsuchacasecreates.MostpeoplechargedwithaClass 2PettyOffensechoosetorepresentthemselvesratherthanpayforaprivate attorney.Guiltypleasarethenorminthesecases,andguiltypleasarecriminal convictions.Twentyyearsago,arrestandconvictionrecordswerepaperskeptincourt storeroomsandwarehouses,oftenimpossibletolocate.Tenyearsagotheywere computerized.NowtheyareinstantlysearchableontheInternetforfreeorfora nominalfeethroughcommercialcriminalrecorddatabaseservices.10Employers, landlords,creditagencies,licensingboardsfornursesandbeauticians,andbanksnow routinelysearchthesedatabasesforbackgroundchecksonapplicants.Amajorityof collegesnowcollectcriminaljusticeinformationonapplicantsforadmissionanda drugconviction,nomatterhowminor,isviewedasanegativefactor.11Thestigmaof acriminalrecordhascreatedbarrierstoemploymentandeducationforthousandsof peopleinColorado. ThesearrestsdiminishthelifechancesofthemostlyyoungColoradanswhoare caughtwithsmallamountsofmarijuana,butthereisnoevidencethatthearrests diminishtheoverallcrimerateormarijuanauserates.Therearenostudiesshowing thatarrestsforpossessionofsmallamountsofmarijuanareduceseriousorviolent crimes.12AndmarijuanauseratesinColoradohaveremainedrelativelystableinrecent yearsdespitetheincreaseinpossessionarrests.13

60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%

MarijuanaUsebyWhites,Blacks& Latinos,Ages18to25,20022009
Whites Blacks Latinos

2002-03 2004-05 2006-07 2008-09 2002-03 2004-05 2006-07 2008-09 2002-03 2004-05 2006-07 2008-09 Ever Used Marijuana in Life Used Marijuana in Past Year Used Marijuana in Past Month

________________________________________________________________________________________________

800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0

MarijuanaPossessionArrestRatesofWhites,Latinos&BlacksinColorado
791 786 315 207 2001 185 2002 262 191 2003

MarijuanaPossArrestRateofWhites MarijuanaPossArrestRateofLatinos MarijuanaPossArrestRateofBlacks

522 517

ArrestDataSource:BasedonUSCensusandFBIUCRdataadjustedwithproxymeasureforLatinosandnonHispanic whites,20012010.Ratesper100,000ofeachgroup. UseDataSource:USDeptHHS,SAMHSA,OfficeofAppliedStudies,NationalSurveyonDrugUseandHealth,20022010.

20032005.Table1.80BMarijuanaUseinLifetime,PastYear,andPastMonthamongPersonsAged18to25,byRacial/EthnicSubgroups 20022003and20042005:http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/NSDUH/2k5NSDUH/tabs/Sect1peTabs67to132.htm#Tab1.80B. 20062010:Table1.26BMarijuanaUseinLifetime,PastYear,andPastMonthamongPersonsAged18to25 20062007:http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/NSDUH/2k7NSDUH/tabs/Sect1peTabs1to46.htm#Tab1.26B 20082009:http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/NSDUH/2k9NSDUH/tabs/Sect1peTabs1to46.htm#Tab1.26B 20092010:http://www.samhsa.gov/data/nsduh/2k10NSDUH/tabs/Sect1peTabs1to46.htm#Tab1.26B

MarijuanaArrestResearchProjectwww.marijuanaarrests.comOctober2012

763 274

732

710 293 203 203 2004 288

622

502

459

434

325

319

310

299 211 202 2006

298

291

204

197

188

178

2005

2007

2008

2009

2010

20012010

Age,RaceandEthnicity
inMarijuanaPossessionArrests
InColorado,asthroughouttheUnitedStates,about60%ofpeopleage1825 havetriedmarijuana,about32%useditinthelastyear,andabout20%useditinthe lastmonth.Thisisahigherratethanforanyotheragegroup.14 InColorado,aselsewhereinAmerica,mostpeoplearrestedformarijuana possessionareyoung.From2001through2010,ofthe108,000peoplearrestedin Coloradoformarijuanapossession:86%ofthemwereage34oryounger,79%were29 oryounger,and69%were24oryounger.Youngpeopleage1824weremostlikelyto getarrestedforpossessingmarijuana.From2001through2010,Coloradoarrested about85,000youngpeopleage29oryounger(79%of108,000) Inthelastdecade(20012010),Caucasians(orwhites)were72%ofColorado's populationand63%ofthosewhopolicearrestedformarijuanapossession.Mostofthe remainingpossessionarrestsinColoradowereofyoungAfricanAmericansand Latinos.15 AfricanAmericans(orblacks)madeup10.5%ofthepeoplearrestedfor marijuanapossessioninthelastdecade,butblackswereonly3.8%ofthestate's population.InColorado,blackswerearrestedat2.8timestheirpercentageofthe populationandat3.1timestherateofwhites. Hispanics(orLatinos)madeup25.4%ofthepeoplearrestedformarijuana possession,butLatinoswereonly19.2%ofColorado'spopulation.Inthelastdecade, Latinoswerearrestedat1.3timestheirpercentageofthepopulationand1.5timesthe rateofwhites. AlthoughthemostlyyoungblacksandLatinoshavebeenarrestedformarijuana possessionathigherratesthanwhites,theydonotusemarijuanamorethantheir whitepeers.ManyyearsofU.S.healthsurveyshaveconsistentlyfoundthatyoung whitesusemarijuanaathigherratesthandoyoungblacksorHispanics. Thepreviouspagehastwographs.Thetoponeshowsmarijuanauseofyoung whites,blacksandLatinosfrom2002through2009.Ineverycategoryeverused marijuana,useditinthelastyear,oruseditinthelastmonththestudiesfoundthat youngwhitesusedmarijuanaathigherratesthanyoungblacksorthanyoung Hispanics.16 Thesecondgraphonthepreviouspageshowstherateofmarijuanapossession arrestsper100,000ofeachgroupinColorado'spopulation.AsthroughouttheU.S.,
______________________________________________________________________________________

blacksandLatinosinColoradowerearrestedathigherpercapitaratesthanwhites,even thoughyoungwhitesusemarijuanaathigherratesthanyoungblacksandLatinos. Onthenextpagearetwomoregraphs.Thetoponeshowstherateofmarijuana possessionarrestsofwhites,Latinosandblacksinthefivemostpopulouscountiesin Colorado,from2001to2010.ThesefivecountieshaveoverthehalfofColorado's residents.Likethestatewideratesonthepreviouspage,itshowsthatineachofthe largestcounties,Latinoshavebeenarrestedathigherratesthanwhites,andthatblacks havebeenarrestedathigherratesthaneithergroup. ThesecondgraphonthenextpageshowsthepercentageofblacksandLatinosin Colorado'spopulation,andalsothepercentageofblacksandLatinosinthestate's marijuanapossessionarrestsfrom2001through2010.BlacksandLatinostogethermade up23%ofthestate'sresidents,buttheywere36%ofthepeoplethatpolicearrestedfor marijuanapossession. Althoughthereisracialandethnicprejudiceeverywhere,wedonotthinkthat thatmostracialdisparitiesinmarijuanapossessionarrestscanbeexplainedbyexplicit orovertpersonalprejudiceonthepartofindividualpoliceofficers.So,whydoesthis happen? Policedepartmentsincitiesandlargetownstendtodeploypatrolpoliceto certainneighborhoodsorgeographicareasusuallydesignated"highcrime"or"crime prone."Thesearedisproportionatelylowincomeareas,somewithconcentrationsof Latinosandblacks.Itisintheseplaceswherethepoliceareassignedtomakemore patrols,andwheretheystopandsearchmorevehiclesandindividualslookingfor "contraband"ofanytypeinordertomakeanarrest.Oftenpatrolofficershavetomeet formalorinformalmonthlyquotasofstops,arrests,andtickets.Theitemthatpeoplein anyneighborhoodaremostlikelytopossesswhichcangetthemarrestedisasmall amountofmarijuana.Themarijuanapossessionarrestsareskewedbyclass,ethnicity andraceinpartbecausepatrolpolicetendto"fish"forarrestsinneighborhoodswith morelowincomewhites,blacksandLatinos.17 ItisimportanttorecognizethatcitiesandlawenforcementagenciesinColorado havenotbeenimmunefromchargesofraciallyandethnicallybiasedpolicing.The profilingofLatinosthoughttobeillegal"immigrantshasledtochargesof discriminatorypolicing.18In2011severalcivilrightsorganizationsfiledacomplaint withtheU.S.JusticeDepartmentallegingapatternandpracticeofpolicemisconduct andcivilrightsviolationsbyDenverlawenforcementagainstAfricanAmericans.19 Suchdiscriminatorytargetingofpeoplebasedontheirraceorethnicityisoneofthe factorscontributingtodisparitiesinmarijuanapossessionarrestsinColorado.

RatesofMarijuanaPossessionArrests ofWhites,Latinos&Blacks,per100,000 ofeachgroup,inColorado's5CountieswiththeLargestPopulations,20012010

RateofMJPossArrestsofWhites RateofMJPossArrestsofLatinos 262 RateofMJPossArrestsofBlacks

Jefferson
241

420 846

Denver
150

273 669

Arapahoe
176

226 635

El Paso

261 538 306

Adams
0 100 200 300

372 435 400 500 600 700 800

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

PercentageofBlacksandLatinosinColorado'sPopulation and PercentageofBlacksandLatinosinColorado'sMarijuanaPossessionArrests

PercentofBlacks&LatinosinPopulationofColorado

PercentofBlacks&LatinosinColorado'sMJPossessionArrests

40%

38%

35% 30% 25%

37%

36%

36%

36%

36%

36%

35%

35%

35%

35% 24% 23%

24%

24%

24%

23%

23%

23%

20% 15% 10% 5% 0%

22%

22%

Source:USCensusData,andFBIUCRdataadjustedwithproxymeasureforLatinosandnonHispanicwhites, 20012010.Ratesper100,000ofeachgroup. MarijuanaArrestProject,HarryG.Levine,JonB.Gettman,LorenSiegelOctober2012

21%
2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

20012010

Aboutthisreport
________________________________________________________________________________________

"210,000MarijuanaPossessionArrestsinColorado,19862010"waspreparedbytheMarijuana ArrestResearchProject,NewYork,NY.TheMarijuanaArrestResearchProjectisdirectedby HarryG.LevineandLorenSiegel.WeoftencollaboratewithJonB.Gettmanandother researchers.Westudyrace,policepolicy,andthegrowingnumberofarrestsformarijuana possessionandotherpettyoffenses. Ourpublicationsrelyonpublicdataandonthefirsthandknowledgeofcurrentandformer policeofficers,publicdefenders,judges,assistantdistrictattorneys,andotherswhoworkdaily inthecriminaljusticesystem.Wehaveauthoredthreereportsonmarijuanapossessionarrests inCalifornia,oneaboutarrestsinWashingtonState,andnumerousreportsandtestimony aboutarrestsinNewYorkCityandState.Ourreportshavebeenpublishedinconjunctionwith theDrugPolicyAlliance,theNewYorkCivilLibertiesUnion,andtheNAACP.Ourworkisinpart supportedbygrantsandgiftsfromindividualsandfoundations,especiallytheOpenSociety Foundations.Ourreportsandotherworkcanbefoundatourwebsite: http://marijuanaarrests.com OurresearchandwritingshavebeencitedineditorialsandnewsstoriesinTheNewYorkTimes, theLosAngelesTimes,NationalPublicRadio,WNYC,AssociatedPress,NewYorkMagazine, NewYorkDailyNews,theEconomist,ReasonMagazine,andmanyotherprintandonline publications.Wecanbereachedat:marijuana.arrests@gmail.com. HarryG.LevineisaprofessorofsociologyatQueensCollegeandtheGraduateCenter,City UniversityofNewYork.Hehaswonawardsforhisresearchandwritingonthehistoryand sociologyofdrugissues. LorenSiegelisanattorneyandanindependentconsultantspecializinginmediaand communicationsfornonprofits.Shewasformanyyearsthedirectorofpubliceducationforthe AmericanCivilLibertiesUnion. JonB.GettmanisaprofessorintheCriminalJusticeProgramatShenandoahUniversity,in Winchester,Virginia.Hehasauthorednumerousreportsaboutmarijuanaarrestsandpolicy. TheMarijuanaArrestResearchProjectisaprojectofCommunityStudiesofNewYork,Inc.,a nonprofitresearchandeducationalorganizationfoundedin1993.Amongitsactivitiesis runningtheInfoshareCommunityDataService(www.infoshare.org),whichcollectsandmakes availableonapubliclyaccessibledatabaseafullrangeofNewYorkdataonpopulation, immigration,employment,housing,healthstatus,crime,childcare,publicschools,landuse, businesspattern,andothermatters.CommunityStudiesofNewYork,155West72ndStreet, Suite402,NewYork,NY10023 Citationformat:HarryG.Levine,JonB.Gettman,LorenSiegel."210,000MarijuanaPossession ArrestsinColorado,19862010,MarijuanaArrestResearchProject,NewYork,NY,October 20 2012.

10

NOTES

AccordingtoU.S.CensusandUniformCrimeReporting(UCR)data,from1986to2010thepopulationof Coloradogrew47%whilethemarijuanapossessionarrestsgrew157%. 2 Forexample,in2007Californiaarrestedpeopleformarijuanapossessionatarateof203arrestsand Coloradoatarateof254arrestsperhundredthousandresidents."MarijuanaArrestRatesBasedonUser Populations,bystate,(2007)"at:http://www.drugscience.org/States/US/rate_rank.htm In2006California'smarijuanapossessionarrestratewas145arrestsandColorado'swas224arrests. "UnitedStatesMarijuanaArrestsbyState,(2006)"at:http://www.drugscience.org/States/US/US_Ia.htm [Note:punctuationisomittedattheendofwebaddressestoreduceerrorswhencopyingtoabrowser.] 3 ThearrestdatapresentedinthisreportwasobtainedfromtheUniformCrimeReporting(UCR)Program oftheFederalBureauofInvestigation(FBI).Thisprogramannuallycollectsdatafromstateandlocallaw enforcementagencies,thoughnoteverylocalpoliceagencyparticipatesintheprogram.TheUCR programmaintainstwodistinctdatasets.Onemakesavailabletherawdataprovidedbylocalpolice agencieswithdetailsontherace,ageandsexofpeoplearrestedforvariouscategoriesofcrime.Forthe stateofColoradothisprovidesdemographicdataforapproximately80%ofallthearrestsinthestate. DemographicdataonmarijuanapossessionarrestsinColoradoarebasedonthisUCRdataset.Arrest rateshavebeencalculatedusingthisarrestdataandUSCensusdatafortherespectivegroups. TheotherUCRdatasetusedforthisreportiscommonlyreferredtoasthecountyleveldataset.It providestotalarrestcountsforeverycountyinthestatesthatparticipateintheprogram.TheUCR programuseswidelyacceptedstatisticalpracticestoproduceestimatesforthoseagencieswhichhave notreporteddata.DatafromthiscountyleveldatasethavebeenusedtopresentdataonColorado arrestsformarijuanapossessionthroughoutthelasttwentyfiveyears.Theseestimationprocedures accountfordifferencesbetweendataprovidedbytheUCRcountyleveldatasetanddatareportedby ColoradoStatecriminaljusticeagencies.TheColoradostategovernmentcriminaljusticedataandthe UCRrace,age,andsexdataset,areforallpracticalpurposes,identical.BothUCRdatasetsreferredto herearepubliclyavailablethroughtheInterUniversityConsortiumforPoliticalandSocialResearch. 4 WehavesaidherethatColoradohas"reducedcriminalpenaltiestosomeextent."Coloradois sometimestermeda"decriminalization"state.Wethinkthisterminology,firstappliedinthe1970s, needstobeseriouslyreconsideredandreworkedfortheseconddecadeofthe21stcentury.Theterm decriminalizationwasinitiallyusedtodescribemarijuanalawsandreformsatatimewhenpolicemade farfewerpossessionarreststhancurrently.Inthe1970s,manypoliticalandmediaobserversbelieved thatwidespreaddecriminalization,ortheremovalofallpenalties,oreventhelegalizationofpossession ifnotoftransferandsale,wouldsoonhappen.Instead,beginningin1980,theU.S.beganareinvigorated "WaronDrugs"that,bythe1990s,focusedmainlyonmarijuanaandproducedtheeverrisingpossession arrestsweseetoday.Coloradoreducedthecriminalpenaltiesformarijuanapossession,butbynomeans eliminatedthem;inColoradolaw,marijuanapossessionremainsacriminaloffensehandledbycriminal courts.Asaresult,wedonotthinkthatitisaccuratetosaythatinColoradomarijuanapossessionhas beendecriminalized. 5 ColoradoRevisedStatutes,UniformControlledSubstancesActof1992,Title18,Article18,Section406, Offensesrelatingtomarihuanaandmarihuanaconcentrate.Alsosee:JonGettman,PhD,Marijuana inColorado:Arrests,UsageandRelatedData,TheBulletinofCannabisReform,November5,2009,at: http://www.drugscience.org/States/CO/CO.pdf IncreasingtheamountoftheClass3PettyArrestin2009fromlessthananouncetolessthantwoounces affectsveryfewpeopleandarrestsanddoesnotsoftentheimpactofthelaw.

11


Coloradoisahomerulestate,meaningthatthestatehasgrantedtolocalauthoritiesthepowerto governthemselvesandpasstheirownlaws,includingcriminallaws.ManycitiesinColoradohave adoptedmunicipalcodesthatmakemarijuanapossessionamunicipaloffense. 7 Ifamunicipalordinanceissilentonthepenaltytobeapplied,whichisoftenthecase,thejudgehasfull discretioninimposingasentencewithincertainbroadlimits.Sincethemaximumpenaltyforall municipalordinancesisfixedatayearinjailanda$1,000finebyStatelaw,somecityjudgeshavebeen knowntoapplythemaximumsentence,eveninamarijuanapossessioncase.MichaelRoberts, Marijuana:$1Kfine,yearinjailforpossessionpossiblebutunlikely,saysLakewoodPD,Denver WestwordBlog,September7,2012. http://blogs.westword.com/latestword/2012/09/marijuana_1000_fine_year_in_jail_lakewood.php 8 SeeFilingFees,Surcharges,andCostsinColoradoStateCourts, http://www.courts.state.co.us/Forms/renderForm.cfm?Form=804 9 Thisdescriptionofcourtpracticesisbasedoninterviewswithdefenseattorneyswhopracticeinthese courts. 10 ForcriminalrecordsinColoradoseehttps://www.cbirecordscheck.com Forotherexamplesofwebsitesthatwillsearchforcriminalrecordssee: https://www.criminalwatchdog.com/http://www.ussearch.com/consumer/criminalrecords/ http://www.jailbase.com/http://www.usapeoplesearch.com/CriminalRecords.aspx http://www.blackbookonline.info/criminalsearch.aspx/http://www.nycourts.gov/apps/chrs/ 11 CenterforCommunityAlternatives,TheUseofCriminalHistoryRecordsinCollegeAdmissions Reconsidered,November2010,athttp://www.communityalternatives.org/pdf/Reconsideredcriminal histrecsincollegeadmissions.pdf 12 Intheir2007studyoftheeffectofmarijuanapossessionarrestsonreducingcrimeinNewYorkCity, HarcourtandLudwig,twoUniversityofChicagoresearchers,foundthattheNYPD'smarijuanaarrestsdo notreducecrimeandmayevenincreaseitbytakingofficersoffthestreet.Theywrite: [NewYorkCitys]experimentwithmisdemeanorMPV[marijuanapossession]arrestsalongwithall theassociateddetentions,convictions,andadditionalincarcerationsrepresentsatremendously expensivepolicingintervention....Ourstudyfurthershowsthatthereisnogoodevidencethatit contributedtocombatingseriouscrimeinthecity.Ifanything,ithashadthereverseeffect.Asaresult, theNYPDpolicyofmisdemeanorMPV[marijuanapossession]arrestsrepresentsanextremelypoor tradeoffofscarcelawenforcementresources.See:BernardE.HarcourtandJensLudwig,"Reefer Madness:BrokenWindowsPolicingandMisdemeanorMarijuanaArrestsinNewYorkCity,19892000", CriminologyandPublicPolicy6:1pp165182,2007 13 JonGettman,PhD,MarijuanainColorado:Arrests,UsageandRelatedData,TheBulletinofCannabis Reform,November5,2009. 14 Source:SubstanceAbuseandMentalHealthServicesAdministration,Resultsfromthe2010National SurveyonDrugUseandHealth:SummaryofNationalFindings,NSDUHSeriesH41,HHSPublicationNo. (SMA)114658.Rockville,MD:SubstanceAbuseandMentalHealthServicesAdministration,2011. http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/NSDUH/2k10NSDUH/2k10Results.htm 15 AlldataisfromtheFBIUCRdatasets,describedaboveinnote3.ThisdatamixesHispanicswith whitesandwithblacks.ThisdistortsarrestdataforwhitesandblacksandproducesnoU.S.dataatallon arrestsofHispanics.FormanyyearsthishaslimitedtheusefulnessandaccuracyoftheFBIUCRcrime datawhichistheofficialandonlynationalU.S.crimedata.Inarecent,pathbreakingarticlein
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Criminology,theofficialpublicationoftheAmericanSocietyofCriminologyandtheleadingjournalinthe field,Steffensmeieretal.(2011)havedevisedastatisticaltechniqueformoreaccuratelyestimating arrestsofwhitesandofblacks,andforaccuratelyestimatingarrestsofHispanics.Theirtechniqueuses datafromjurisdictionswherethearrestsofwhites,blacksandHispanicsarereportedandknown becausethestatebeaksoutarresteesbyraceandethnicity.(TheyusedatafromCaliforniaandNew York).ThemethodthenusesthisdatatodistinguishthethreegroupsinanotherjurisdictionwhereFBI UCRdataandstateandcountydataonlyshowarrestsofwhitesthatincludewhiteHispanics,andarrests ofblacksthatincludeblackHispanics.Inthisreport,thismethodhasbeenappliedtomarijuana possessionarrestsinColoradobasedonmarijuanapossessionarrestdatafromCaliforniafortheyears 2001through2010.Steffensmeiretal.brieflysummarizetheirmethodasfollows: OuradjustmentmethodforremovingtheHispaniceffectfromWhiteandBlackUCRarrest figuresfollowsastraightforwardprocedurethatiselaboratedsubsequentlyandincludesthe followingfoursteps:1)mimicUCRnationalestimatesintheCANYdatabyaddingHispanic arrestsintoWhiteandBlackarrestcategoriestocreateconfoundedWhiteandBlackCANY arrestfigures,2)downwardadjusttheseconfoundedWhiteandBlackCANYarrestfigures(to accountfortherelativelylargerHispanicpopulationinCANYthaninthenationasawhole),3) usecleanandconfoundedWhiteandBlackCANYarrestfigurestocreatecorrectionfactorsfor UCRdata,and4)applythesecorrectionfactorstoUCRarrestfigurestoestimatecleannational countsofWhiteandBlackarreststhatdonotincludeHispanics. See:Steffensmeier,D;Feldmeyer,B;Harris,C;Ulmer,J.(Feb,2011)"ReassessingTrendsinBlackViolent Crime,19802008:SortingOutthe'HispanicEffect'inUniformCrimeReportsArrests,NationalCrime VictimizationSurveyOffenderEstimates,andUSPrisonerCounts."Criminology;49;1;pg197pg251. 16 Thewebaddressesofthesourcesforthedatainthegraph"MarijuanaUsebyWhites,Blacks& Latinos,Ages18to25,20022009"areonpage8atthebottomofthepage.Alldatacomesfrom:US DeptHHS,SAMHSA,OfficeofAppliedStudies,NationalSurveyonDrugUseandHealth,20022010. ThesemajorU.S.studiesofdruguseconsistentlyfindthatyoungwhites(1825)usemarijuanaathigher ratesthanyoungblacksandLatinos(1825).However,somestudiesfindthatwhites35andolderuse marijuanaatslightlylowerratesthanolderblacks.Forourpurposes,itistheyoungerpeoplewhoare mostimportantbecausea)youngpeopleusemarijuanaatsignificantlyhigherrates,andb)policearrest youngpeopleatfar,farhigherrates. 17 Thelogicofpolicepatrolandarrestprocesses,includingarrestquotasandtheirimportantrolein policingformarijuanapossessionandothermisdemeanorsisdescribedin:HarryG.LevineandDeborah P.Small,MarijuanaArrestCrusade:RacialBiasandPolicePolicyinNewYorkCity,19972007.NYCLU, NewYork,2009.At:http://www.nyclu.org/files/MARIJUANAARRESTCRUSADE_Final.pdf Patrolandnarcoticspolice,andtheirimmediatesupervisors,oftenfaceenormouspressuretomeet arrestandticketquotassometimestermed"performancemeasures."Makingmarijuanaarrestsarea relativelysafeandeasywayforpolicetomeettheirquotas. 18 See,forexample,JoseSanchezv.TheCityandCountyofDenver,inwhichalegalresidentwasfalsely arrestedbytheDenverpoliceonsuspicionofbeinganillegalimmigrant. http://blogs.westword.com/latestword/2011/03/jose_sanchez_lawsuit_denver_police_department_aclu .php?page=2
19

SeelettertoThomasE.Perez,AssistantAttorneyGeneral,CivilRightsDivision,UnitedStates DepartmentofJusticefromMarkSilverstein,LegalDirector,ACLUofColorado,athttp://aclu co.org/sites/default/files/ACLU%20Colo%20%20letter%20to%20DOJ%20Special%20Litigation%20Unit%2 0053111.pdf 20 Forhelpinginmanywayswewanttothank:CraigReinarman,JesseLevine,TonyNewman,ArtWay, SteveFox,WarrenEdson,AllenSt.Pierre,KeithStroup,andtheOpenSocietyFoundations.

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