Black youth group to lead rally for pot decriminalization

Mayor Michael Nutter is facing mounting pressure from an unlikely source to sign a City Council-approved bill that would decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana: a coalition of urban organizations better known for mentoring children and grassroots activism than grass activism.

The Institute for the Development of African America Youth (IDAAY), along with 10 other organizations, have scheduled a rally for Sept. 10 to urge the mayor to sign the bill into law. The rally's date is one day before Nutter's deadline to respond to the bill.

The action undermines Nutter's harsh criticism of a bill that some supporters have framed as a civil-right issue. African Americans made up 83 percent of the 4,614 arrests made in 2013 by Philadelphia police for small amounts of marijuana (SAM), even though studies show similar percentages of whites and blacks — about 12 percent — smoke weed.

Nutter has mocked the legislation's backers — including, it would seem, its sponsor, Councilman Jim Kenney — for framing marijuana as a civil-rights issue. "I find all of this sudden interest in the lives of black men by ... some elected officials fascinating." Nutter has been reported saying. "Suddenly, this is the great civil-rights issue of our day — that black guys should be allowed to smoke as much dope as they want."

But IDAAY spokeswoman Monica Peters says the mayor misses the point. "It's not about black kids being able to smoke marijuana," she said. "It's about what happens when black kids are caught with small amounts of marijuana — their lives are altered forever. Does that youth's life deserve to be destroyed for the rest of their life? For smoking weed when he was 19 years old?"

IDAAY, a charitable organization that is focused on educating and mentoring at-risk black youth, decided to organize the rally because the SAM arrests "impact all youth," said Peters, "but especially African American youth, who are more likely to have the book thrown at them."

So far this year, PPD arrests for possession of small amounts of marijuana are down 25 percent. But African Americans still make up 83 percent of those arrested.

Nutter has refused to address the disparate racial impact, saying "it is an insult to the African-American community that all of this discussion and debate is revolving around whether or not black guys can smoke as much joint or weed as white guys."

However, numerous studies and reports have shown that the inequitable enforcement of an act that many consider mere youthful indiscretion damages how individuals see the criminal-justice system. In a recent Pew survey, 70 percent of black respondents said they believed that police treat them worse than whites, and 68 percent said the same about the courts. That's not surprising, given the racial imbalance in arrest rates for crimes like marijuana possession and the fact that, once arrested for any crime, blacks are more likely than whites to receive longer prison sentences (13.1 percent longer, according to 2012 study by the U.S. Sentencing Commission).

Peters repeatedly emphasized that none of the rally's sponsors want more people — regardless of race — to be smoking weed, and said that they opposed the legalization of marijuana.

"PA CareerLink supports [the bill], PA Working Families supports it — these are people who don't do drugs, but they are asking 'Why are we arresting all these youth?'" said Peters, adding "What we're saying is: If someone is caught with a small amount, let them pay a fine and learn their lesson. Not ruin their lives."

The bill would would make SAM possession a summary offense punishable with a $25 fine.
The Council approved the bill by a veto-proof 13-3 vote, and every African American council member voted for it. Kenney's office confirmed that the councilman intends to attend and speak at the rally.

In the lead-up to the rally, IDAAY is encouraging supporters to sign a petition, which is available online here.