Racial Disparity in Drug Sentencing...

According to a new report issued jointly by the Sentencing Project and Human Rights Watch, and reported in today's NYT, there is an extreme disparity between the rate of incarceration for drug offenses between whites and blacks. The national average is 10.1 blacks are sentenced for every one white sentenced. This seems like a lot, until you see that good old Wisconsin ups the ante to a 42.4 to 1 ratio. I honestly am having trouble fathoming how that can even be possible. I am not so proud of being a Badger today.

In addition to the racial disparity, the overall increase in drug related arrests is staggering...

In 2006, according to federal data, drug-related arrests climbed to 1.89 million, up from 1.85 million in 2005 and 581,000 in 1980.

More than four in five of the arrests were for possession of banned substances, rather than for their sale or manufacture. Four in 10 of all drug arrests were for marijuana possession, according to the latest F.B.I. data.

If this data is correct, roughly 750,000 arrests were made for possession of marijuana. This is a completely incomprehensible use of public resources and seems to be about as unsustainable of a policy as one can conceive. Spending countless hours arresting, processing, and, all to often, incarcerating individuals for possession of weed just doesn't add up to me.