Racism has nothing to do with Seattle’s public pot laws
Jul 20, 2015, 1:01 PM | Updated: Oct 14, 2024, 9:16 am
Police issued 85 tickets, each of which carry a $27 penalty from July 1, 2014 through the end of last year. Black men represent 27 percent of the tickets issued. (AP)
(AP)
Transcribed from the Monday’s edition of the David Boze Show on AM 770 KTTH.
Men, and black men particularly, are getting the most tickets in Seattle for public use of marijuana.
Police issued 85 tickets, each of which carry a $27 penalty from July 1, 2014 through the end of last year.
Related: Are marijuana edibles really poisoning our kids?
This is from the Associated Press: “Although blacks make up 8 percent of Seattle’s population, they received 27 percent of tickets issued. Forty-four tickets, more than half, were issued in downtown parks. Only 9 percent of those tickets were paid, 70 percent were in default.”
Which leads me to believe what we need is a law that if you go to any kind of marijuana supply place and you show your ID, there should be a list of people that haven’t paid their tickets and they can’t buy until they pay their ticket. Let’s get that clear right away.
Secondly, because there is a racial disparity here, inherently that means there must be racism, right? I mean, it’s the only explanation. Or, could it be that people are just showing up at public parks and smoking pot?
I just had this discussion over the weekend. Somebody pointed out a statistic that showed a racial disparity and said, “How can this be anything other than racism?”
I said, “there’s all kinds of disparities. There’s at least seven times more men in prison than women. Does that mean our laws are written in such a way that specifically discriminate against men?”
I would say no.
So you look at this, we have a disparity here. Let’s get the justice department involved — not.
Transcribed from the Monday’s edition of the David Boze Show on AM 770 KTTH.
