Congressman wants committee to study marijuana laws

Tennessee Congressman Steve Cohen is calling for marijuana law reform after a new study suggests disparity in the number of pot possession arrests in Shelby County. An arrest rate of African Americans that's higher than in most other parts of the nation. Cohen said, "There have always been disparities in marijuana arrests between African Americans and Caucasians." Congressman Steve Cohen has authored a bill to create a National Commission on Federal Marijuana Policy. He explains why,"To study our marijuana laws, look at states that have medical marijuana, those that have legalized it like Colorado and Washington, see how they're doing." Meanwhile, the American Civil Liberties Union report "The War on Marijuana: Black and White," found blacks made up 83% of all pot possession arrests in Memphis and Shelby County in 2010. "What's shocking is Shelby County is about the highest in the country," Cohen said. The report finds blacks in Tennessee are four times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than whites, Mississippi blacks are 3.9 times more likely and Arkansas blacks are three times more likely. Cohen said, "Yet the use of marijuana, studies show, is equal between the races." Cohen, a longtime advocate to legalize marijuana, says these kinds of arrests drain taxpayer dollars. The report found in 2010, taxpayers in the tri-state area spent nearly 73 million dollars policing, litigating and imprisoning all races for marijuana possession. Cohen said, "An arrest and/or conviction, particularly conviction, makes it harder to get scholarships, makes it harder to get housing, makes it harder to get a job for the rest of one's life." Cohen also wants to study tax revenues from legalized marijuana, savings from the criminal justice system and how legalization affects people. "What it'll do to give people an opportunity to go forth in their productive lives, rather than have a scarlet letter, an M so to speak, on their chest forever," said Cohen. Those against legalizing marijuana say current laws protect you from drugged drivers and workers using marijuana. The bill will be heard in several committees before it's heard by the House or Senate.

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