One of the sad little facts about our government’s supposed “war on drugs” has been that it has always been a barely disguised war on class, and race. This was borne out in a recent study that found that New York Police intentionally target Black and Latino youth for marijuana possession, even though whites are by far the largest user of the substance.
This is true! All the time, we see our white friends walk about the hood with their pockets all BULGING with the drugs, and they rarely get hassled by the cops (unless they’re acting white boy drunk). Our young Salvadorian, Puerto Rican, and Black male friends can hardly walk to the corner bodega at night without drawing the attention of Officer Stop-And-Frisk…
The study, prepared by a Queen College professor, showed that NYPD personnel made 440,000 arrests over the last decade. About 85 percent of these arrests were black and Latino, and 50 percent of those were under the age of 50.
