Sanchez Helen F, Orr Michael F, Wang Ann, Cano Miguel Á, Vaughan Ellen L, Harvey Laura M, Essa Saman, Torbati Autena, Clark Uraina S, Fagundes Christopher P, de Dios Marcel A
Department of Psychological, Health, and Learning Sciences, University of Houston, 3657 Cullen Blvd, Houston, TX 77204, United States.
Department of Psychology, University of Houston, 3695 Cullen Blvd, Houston, TX 77204, United States.
Drug Alcohol Depend. 2020 Nov 1;216:108316. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2020.108316. Epub 2020 Sep 28.
Diversion programs are considered alternatives to the arrest and incarceration of non-violent drug offenders, including those found in possession of smaller amounts of cannabis in states with prohibitive laws. Despite the progressive nature of such programs, the inability to complete diversion program requirements can often result in greater involvement with the criminal justice system than traditional case adjudication. Few studies have evaluated racial group differences in cannabis diversion program completion.
The current study examined a sample of 8323 adult participants in Harris County, Texas' Marijuana Misdemeanor Diversion Program (MMDP) between March 2017 and July 2019. Gender, age, and race/ethnicity were examined as predictors of program completion and time to completion using Chi square, Kruskal Wallis tests, and Cox proportional hazard regression models.
Both males and African Americans were over-represented (80 % and 50 %, respectively) among participants of Harris County's MMDP. African American (HR = 0.782, 95 % CI [.735-.832], p < .001) and Latino American MMDP participants (HR = .822, 95 % CI [.720-.937], p = .003) had significantly lower odds of MMDP completion and a longer interval to program completion as compared to non-Latino White participants.
The current study identified racial/ethnic and gender disparities in a large county's cannabis diversion program. These findings may be related to law enforcement disparities which disproportionately target males and people of color. Findings may serve to inform the continued reform of the criminal justice system, particularly laws relating to cannabis.
分流计划被视为逮捕和监禁非暴力毒品犯罪者的替代方案，包括那些在实行禁令的州被发现持有少量大麻的人。尽管此类计划具有进步性，但无法完成分流计划要求往往会导致比传统案件裁决更多地卷入刑事司法系统。很少有研究评估大麻分流计划完成情况中的种族差异。
本研究调查了2017年3月至2019年7月期间德克萨斯州哈里斯县大麻轻罪分流计划（MMDP）的8323名成年参与者样本。使用卡方检验、克鲁斯卡尔-沃利斯检验和考克斯比例风险回归模型，将性别、年龄和种族/族裔作为计划完成情况和完成时间的预测因素进行了检验。
在哈里斯县MMDP的参与者中，男性和非裔美国人的占比过高（分别为80%和50%）。与非拉丁裔白人参与者相比，非裔美国MMDP参与者（HR = 0.782，95% CI [.735-.832]，p <.001）和拉丁裔美国MMDP参与者（HR =.822，95% CI [.720-.937]，p =.003）完成MMDP的几率显著更低，且完成计划的间隔时间更长。
本研究发现了一个大县的大麻分流计划中存在种族/族裔和性别差异。这些发现可能与执法差异有关，执法差异不成比例地针对男性和有色人种。这些发现可能有助于为刑事司法系统的持续改革提供信息，特别是与大麻相关的法律。
