Liberal Prosecutors in Miami-Dade Continue to Prosecute Black People at Higher Rates for Marijuana Possession

From [HERE] Despite efforts to decriminalize marijuana in the state of Florida, people in Miami-Dade County continue to experience racial disparities when it comes to arrests for possession of the plant.

In December 2018, the Agriculture Improvement Act also known as "Farm Bill" was signed into law making hemp, a substance that looks and smells like marijuana, legal across the state of Florida. And although the Sunshine State has laxed its stance over the use of marijuana, arrests across Miami-Dade county have gone up.

But as an investigation from the Miami Herald reveals, Black people are being prosecuted at higher rates despite making up just a relatively small fraction of Miami-Dade's total population. The Herald recounts the story of Fred Johnson, who was arrested in June of last year while smoking a joint outside the Clevelander hotel.

Miami Beach officers charged him with a misdemeanor for having less than 20 grams of cannabis, but charges were dropped six days later. Johnson was also hit with a criminal city ordinance violation for smoking marijuana in public.

Johnson's story is one of the more than 4,200 people who have been hit with misdemeanor marijuana charges over the last five years. According to the report, nearly 60% of those cases were brought against Black defendants, despite Black people making up 18% of the county's population.

In at least 97% of the cases, prosecutors ultimately ended up dropping the charges, data from the Miami-Dade Clerk of Courts revealed.