The Arkansas Justice Collective has scheduled a news conference Thursday in Fayetteville to discuss its finding that, despite a local ordinance de-emphasizing marijuana enforcement, marijuana arrests have almost tripled in 10 years and enforcement has disproportionately affected black people.

The city passed an ordinance declaring marijuana possession a low priority 10 years ago. But, according to data the public policy group has collected, marijuana arrests have increased 284 percent, with disproportionate arrests among minority groups. Fayetteville’s population is 6 percent black. According to the group, 37 percent of all felony marijuana arrests were of black people and 26 percent of misdemeanor arrests.

A release from the group, formed to defend the rights of immigrants, continued:

Also disturbing is that 51% of the 142 Black people charged with marijuana misdemeanors were charged with possession ONLY, compared to 29% of White people who had only this charge. That is, these people had no other charge except possession of marijuana; they had neither pipe nor rolling papers nor any other instrument of a crime, and had committed no other offense. Immigrants and refugees are particularly vulnerable because Fayetteville has no jail of its own and thus sends its prisoners to the Washington County Jail which then initiates deportation procedures through its xenophobic alliance with ICE known as 287g. Months of meetings and corresponding with city officials to change these trends have proven that they need public pressure to address this waste of resources and this violence against people who are already vulnerable. The report will be available online at www.arkansaslaw.org/fayetteville on Thursday morning, June 27th.

In 2008, Fayetteville voters approved, 62-38, an initiated ordinance making marijuana enforcement the lowest police priority. From Ballotpedia:

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