NAACP Endorses Marijuana Legalization in CO and WAPhillip Smith The Colorado initiative, Amendment 64, has already won the support of a growing list of organizations, including the Democratic and Libertarian Parties of Colorado, the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar, and the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition. Similarly, the Washington initiative, I-502, also has a growing list of endorsers, including the King County (Seattle) Bar Association, the Washington State Labor Council of the AFL-CIO, the Green Party, the state Democratic Party, and numerous county and local Democratic Party groups. In ending the prohibition against adult use of marijuana, we might affect mass incarceration and its disproportionate impact on African-Americans and other people of color, said Rocky Mountain states regional NAACP president Rosemary Harris-Lytle. Treating marijuana use as a crime has not only failed, it has perpetuated racial inequities through unequal enforcement, said Pacific Northwest regional president Oscar Eason, Jr. African Americans are no more likely than whites to use marijuana, but we are much more likely to be arrested for it. In Colorado, an early August Public Policy Polling survey of likely voters had Amendment 64 leading 49% to 40% and trending upward from an earlier PPP poll that had it leading 46% to 42%, but still not over 50%. In Washington, a July Public Policy Polling survey had I-502 leading 50% to 37% and trending upward over an earlier PPP poll that had it leading 47% to 39%, but still not over 50%. Look for in-depth reporting on these two marijuana legalization initiatives and their prospects, as well as the one in Oregon, Measure 80, after the Labor Day holiday. You can support this information by voting on Reddit HERE linkwithin_text=Related Articles: 