Children’s group backs pot legalization
Sep 11, 2012, 6:31 AM | Updated: 12:16 pm
The board of the Seattle-based Children's Alliance has voted to support the legalization of marijuana in Washington (AP Photo/file)
(AP Photo/file)
A prominent Seattle-based social services group is the latest to support a ballot measure legalizing marijuana in Washington.
The Children’s Alliance, an advocacy group with more than 100-social service agencies as members, voted to endorse I-502 because of the cost of justice and number of people who end up jailed, The Seattle Times reports.
Children in minority households pay “a terrible price” for racially biased enforcement of marijuana laws, said Jon Gould, the group’s deputy director.
Gould said although whites and African Americans use marijuana at similar rates, blacks are three times as likely to be arrested, charged and convicted of marijuana-related crimes, according to Gould. About 90 percent of the chargers are for possession.
According to Gould, children “end up paying a terrible price for the disproportionate enforcement” when their parents’ criminal records hinder their ability to get jobs, public housing or federal student aid, such as Pell grants, the Times reports.
The Children’s Alliance joins a diverse mix of supporters, including the regional National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the state Labor Council, several former federal law-enforcement officials and Seattle’s mayor, city attorney and City Council.
