The legislative committees recognized some of these well-known disparities. Black people are three times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than whites, even though both races use marijuana at the same rate. Once someone is arrested on a marijuana charge, meaningful employment is often unobtainable. Some student loans and educational grants become unavailable, and a record of incarceration becomes a lifetime weight.
Now, this all demands further consideration and analysis. If whites and blacks smoke marijuana at the same rate, why would three times as many black people be in jail? Let's start at how marijuana was being distributed in this country and who it was getting to.
When I attended college, marijuana smoke was rolling out from underneath the doors in the dormitories every Friday and Saturday night. Back then, a "joint" was not easy to get unless you knew the right people. Most of the "right people" on my campus were white males, many from wealthy families, who came from private high schools.