The report found that between the years 2001 and 2010, there were more than 8 million marijuana arrests in the United States, 88 percent of which were for possession. These arrests have increased to now account for more than half of all drug arrests in the United States, with about 46 percent of all drug arrests being for marijuana possession. The report continues to state that this causes a tremendous human and financial cost for African Americans and can negatively impact public housing and student financial aid eligibility, employment opportunities, child custody determinations and immigration status.

“I believe it reflects racial profiling with law enforcements,” Fancher said. “There’s a tendency to target communities of color. People of black or brown (color) are targeted for surveillance, and this results in the disparity.”

East Lansing Police Department, or ELPD, Lt. Scott Wriggelsworth said their officers are trained in the police academy on racial sensitivity and are offered classes as officers that they can take.

“The basic premise as law enforcement is to be sensitive to all races,” Wriggelsworth said. “Not everybody has the same way of life or lifestyle, but it doesn’t mean that they are wrong.”

Wriggelsworth said people are usually arrested in East Lansing for possession of marijuana, depending on the size and amount they possess. The fine is $25, which has remained the same since he started at ELPD 20 years ago, Wriggelsworth said.

Lynda Garcia, one of the co-authors of the report, said extensive work had been done in this area regarding racial profiling in New York City and they were curious to see if this was something unique to the city. When she and her colleagues found that the numbers were the same across the nation, she said she was surprised.

“I think in New York the police department is known for (being) aggressive,” Garcia said. “We thought it was a lot do (with) why there were huge disparities here, but to see the same number across the country was shocking.”

Garcia said as mentioned in the report, legalization would be the easiest way to get rid of this issue. Given that two states in the U.S. have already moved in this direction, she said she feels that the nation is avoiding the inevitable.

“Young people are doing things that are criminalized that affects them for the rest of their lives, where people are doing the same thing in Colorado and it’s legal and there’s no negative consequence,” she said. “People are paying a real heavy price for a behavior that isn’t looked at as a criminal behavior anymore.”