“Legalization is about racial justice,” said Amol Sinha, executive director of the ACLU in New Jersey.
Despite growing public support for the legalized use of recreational marijuana, arrests in New Jersey have increased in recent years, according to data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. In 2017, the state reportedly had more arrests of Blacks users of the plant, and at higher rates, than almost every other state.
The ACLU’s analysis targeted three counties: Salem, Ocean and Hunterdon, where Blacks were eleven times more likely to be arrested for possessing marijuana. In Salem County, Blacks were six times more likely to be arrested. Even worst is in Ocean, were they are seven times more likely to be targeted, harassed and hauled off to jail.
Back in March, top state lawmakers canceled a planned vote on a bill that would legalize recreational marijuana for adults 21 and older.