Millions of people have been needlessly harmed by a wasteful numbers game that unfairly targets communities of color—despite the fact that blacks and whites use marijuana at comparable rates, blacks are almost four times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession.

This wasteful, racially biased numbers game is fueled by billions of tax dollars that the federal government doles out to law enforcement. When police are seeking out or receiving a piece of the drug war pie, they report on arrest numbers, including marijuana arrests. This creates a powerful incentive for police to aggressively go after people with small amounts of marijuana – it's an easy way to get a lot of arrests. But quantity does not mean quality. These needless and racially biased arrests take focus away from keeping our communities safe: in 2010, police arrested more people for marijuana possession than for all violent crimes combined.

Cutting off this strong financial incentive would have a huge impact on peoples’ lives, save our tax dollars, and mark a major shift away from the 40-year-old failed War on Drugs.

Tell Attorney General Eric Holder: Don’t reward police for making racially biased, wasteful marijuana arrests. Stop including marijuana possession arrests as a performance metric for state and local police participating in federal funding programs, and restrict the use of federal funds to make such marijuana arrests.

https://www.aclu.org/secure/en...ers-game?sid=1257529