ACLU report highlights race disparity in Nevada pot-related arrests

The American Civil Liberties Union released a report Monday that says black people are three times more likely than white people to get arrested for marijuana possession in Nevada.

The report, which cited data from 2010 to 2018, acknowledged that Nevada has reformed its marijuana policies over the past decade and legalized the drug for medical and recreational use, but it argued that arrest rates haven’t changed enough.

In 2018, the report said, 20 percent of all drug-related arrests in the state were for marijuana possession.

Tod Story, executive director of ACLU of Nevada, called on the state to “do better.”

“We need action to end racial profiling and the failed war on drugs that still affects our black and brown communities disproportionately,” Story said in a statement.

The organization said it is pushing for passage of the MORE Act, “which aims to correct historical injustices of the failed war on drugs that has terrorized black communities and decriminalized marijuana at the federal level, reassesses marijuana convictions, and invests in economically disadvantaged communities.”

Contact Alexis Egeland at aegeland@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0335. Follow @alexis_egeland on Twitter.