The black population is just 4.1% of Colorado, vs. the national average of 13.1%

I'm non-US so I dont have any idea where to obtain detailed statistics - but does anyone have data about how many blacks in Colorado are in state/fed jail for pot compared to the whole US?

And as a side question: do private jails exist in Colorado, or is the jail system in state hands?

Federal jail would be a federal thing. There are federal prisons in CO, most notoriously the Supermax in Florence, but they don't put simple drug dealers in there. Federal arrests for pot in CO?

Most recent stats I found are 2010 http://www.ccjrc.org/pdf/2010_Colorado_Quick_Facts.pdf Latinos/as account for 17.1% of the population in Colorado, but 31% of the state prison population. • African-Americans make up 3.8% of Colorado’s population, but represent 19.4% of people in state prison. • Anglos are 74.5% of the state’s population, but only 46% of the prison population CO has private prisons too. I think that's nationwide these days, sadly.

Now bear in mind that pot has been de-facto legal in CO for about 4 years already. The Denver PD (largest city in the state) has been de-emphasizing pot enforcement for several years. There's been greater emphasis on other enforcement areas, like domestic violence and drunk driving.

Maybe you should do that research yourself before you spout off about how marijuana legalization in Colorado will drastically affect the racial ratios of imprisoned inmates here.

It's disappointing to see race baiting on HN. Save it for reddit.

I'm sorry if some consider my comment offensive - but it is, at least as tons of reports suggest, the pure truth that vastly more blacks get fucked up by US justice system than white people.

And this is unacceptable for a self-named "world leader".

Fortunately there's always meth :(

...and a shitload of other drugs. While white people can get away with pretty much anything.

Meth in America is typically stereotyped as a "white" drug. Google "faces of meth" to see what I mean. 29% of white prisoners in Federal prisons report using meth in the month before their arrest., compared to only 1% of black prisoners. Law enforcement efforts targeting methamphetamine use have traditionally targeted rural areas; areas that are traditionally white.

*"The American criminal justice system is rife with racial disparities such a these, according to a report from the Human Rights Watch. But the fight against methamphetamine in Iowa in recent years is thought to be behind a spike in the number of whites imprisoned on drug charges and a decrease in blacks imprisoned on drug offenses, according to the report.“It suggests that law enforcement was increasing its attention to meth and less to other types of drugs … Meth is a ‘by whites, for whites’ drug,’” said Jamie Fellner, senior counsel and author of the report, titled “Targeting Blacks: Drug Law Enforcement and Race in the United States.”"

http://iowaindependent.com/2431/meth-arrests-likely-behind-l...

Knock it off with your uninformed race-bating.