Have you ever wondered how many hours law enforcement officers waste on arresting and processing people for low-level misdemeanor marijuana possession? The Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) has the answer, and it’s in the seven digits. [caption id="attachment_6069" align="alignright" width="219"] Michael Bloomberg (Photo by Time.com)[/caption] The DPA reviewed low-level misdemeanor marijuana possession arrests carried out by the New York Police Department (NYPD) during Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s tenure and…

On the same day that the California NAACP endorsed that state’s ballot initiative to end marijuana prohibition (now officially named Proposition 19), our allies at the Drug Policy Alliance released a new study that shines a light on the systemic racial bias behind marijuana arrests taking place all across California. Among the report’s findings: “In every one of the 25 largest counties in California, blacks are arrested for marijuana possession at higher rates than whites, typically at…