Marijuana arrests in Wisconsin hit black residents hardest

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — During Wisconsin's 2018 midterm election, which saw a record-breaking turnout, it was not the close gubernatorial race that motivated Milwaukee resident Marlon Rockett to cast an early ballot. It was the county's non-binding referendum on whether recreational use of marijuana should be legalized.

Racial equity is a top reason why Rockett favors legalization, which 70% of Milwaukee County voters also supported. Rockett, who co-hosts a podcast on issues affecting the black community, said laws against marijuana are a "tool that's used to help hold everyday Americans back." And the enforcement of these laws, Rockett said, is largely concentrated on African Americans.

"There's a lot of things in our country that hold (black people) back or promote the inequality," Rockett said. "If anybody knew their history, they would know that cannabis is especially destructive."

In fact, in 2018, blacks were four times as likely to be arrested as whites for marijuana possession in Wisconsin, a Wisconsin Watch review shows. Experts point to policing practices and the racial history behind marijuana prohibition as leading to arrest disparities.

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The nonprofit news outlet Wisconsin Watch provided this article to The Associated Press through a collaboration with Institute for Nonprofit News.

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A few months after the referendum that drew Rockett to the polls, the newly elected governor, Democrat Tony Evers, announced budget proposals for statewide decriminalization of marijuana and legalization of it for medical use.

Under his decriminalization proposal — which is aimed at part in reducing the state's racial disparities — individuals possessing, manufacturing and distributing 25 grams or less of marijuana would not face penalties. Evers also wants people...