Ten more reasons to legalize marijuana

In line with my earlier post today about cocaine sentencing disparities: AlterNet points us to the High Times legalization effort known as the 420 Campaign, and in particular, its top 10 reasons why marijuana should be legalized. Obviously you should make yourself familiar with all 10 reasons, but this one in particular is relevant to my earlier post:

9. Arrests for marijuana possession disproportionately affect blacks and Hispanics and reinforce the perception that law enforcement is biased and prejudiced against minorities. African-Americans account for approximately 13% of the population of the United States and about 13.5% of annual marijuana users, however, blacks also account for 26% of all marijuana arrests. Recent studies have demonstrated that blacks and Hispanics account for the majority of marijuana possession arrests in New York City, primarily for smoking marijuana in public view. Law enforcement has failed to demonstrate that marijuana laws can be enforced fairly without regard to race; far too often minorities are arrested for marijuana use while white/non-Hispanic Americans face a much lower risk of arrest.