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Justice by Zipcode

Justice by Zipcode

In Kentucky, the same cannabis can lead to a very different outcome depending on where you are when police or prosecutors get involved.

That is what we mean by "justice by zipcode." It is not the name of a Kentucky law. It is what happens in practice: one statewide plant, but enforcement, charging, and conviction rates that change from county to county — and from neighborhood to neighborhood.

Same plant. Same amount. Different zipcode, different outcome.

The numbers prove it is not even

The Kentucky Center for Economic Policy (KyPolicy) analyzed Kentucky Administrative Office of the Courts data, made available by the Vera Institute of Justice, covering July 1, 2002 to June 29, 2022. What it found:

  • 303,264 Kentuckians were charged with a cannabis offense in those two decades — nearly two people charged every hour, every day.
  • 1 in 10 of the 3.1 million people charged with a crime in Kentucky in that period faced cannabis charges.
  • More than half of those charged were convicted of a cannabis-related offense. On average from 2003 to 2021, the cannabis conviction rate was 59%, compared to 63% for all offenses.
  • Possession was the most common charge. About 277,000 people were charged with cannabis possession alone. Possession is a Class B misdemeanor in Kentucky, punishable by up to 45 days in jail and a fine of up to $250.

Every Kentucky county had people charged with cannabis offenses in those 20 years — from 68 people in Robertson County to 72,717 people in Jefferson County.

But the rates were not close:

  • Charged per 1,000 residents per year: 1.5 in Robertson County, compared to 8.4 in Carroll County. Lyon County was an outlier at 16.4 per 1,000.
  • Conviction rates ranged from 40% in Jefferson County to 88% in Casey County.
  • By region: 64,656 people were charged in the Appalachian region, close to Jefferson County’s 72,717 — but 65% of the Appalachian cases ended in conviction, compared to 40% in Jefferson County. Western Kentucky had the highest regional conviction rate.

In other words, where the case was filed mattered as much as what happened.

One county changed its approach — and proved the point

In 2019, the Jefferson County Attorney’s Office in Louisville announced it would no longer prosecute cannabis possession cases where the person had one ounce or less and possession was the only or most serious charge.

That was a local decision, not a statewide law. And even then, KyPolicy notes Jefferson County still had more than 250 cannabis possession cases in 2022, and the odor or discovery of cannabis could still be used as probable cause for a search, leading to other charges.

A person’s outcome should not depend on whether their county prosecutor made that choice. It should not depend on which side of a county line they were standing on.

Who pays the most

KyPolicy is clear: these consequences fall disproportionately on low-income and Black and Brown Kentuckians.

  • Black Kentuckians are 8.7% of Kentucky’s population but 21% of its prison population.
  • A 2020 ACLU report cited by KyPolicy found Black Kentuckians were nearly 10 times more likely to be arrested for cannabis possession than white Kentuckians, despite similar rates of use.
  • In Fayette County in 2019, Black people made up 49% of cannabis possession charges and 59% of cannabis trafficking charges, while making up only 16% of the county’s population.
  • A 2019 Courier-Journal investigation found Black Louisvillians accounted for two-thirds of people charged for cannabis possession and were cited for possession at six times the rate of white people.

A charge follows you long after court

Most cannabis charges do not end in prison time. That does not mean they end at the courthouse door. KyPolicy documents collateral consequences that can include:

  • Fines, court costs, and supervision fees that take money from food, rent, health care, and transportation budgets
  • A charge showing up on a background check — even if there was no conviction — and hurting job and education opportunities
  • Professional licenses that can be disciplined or suspended after a conviction
  • Barriers to housing, including the Section 8 rule barring people with drug-related criminal activity in the last three years
  • Military-service and immigration consequences

A record for a plant does not stay in one zipcode. It follows a person into every job application, housing application, and loan.

This is our why

This is why the Kentucky Cannabis Freedom Coalition exists.

We are not fighting for a special exception for one county, one city, or one prosecutor’s policy. We are fighting for one clear, statewide standard, decided by Kentucky voters:

Adults 21 and older could possess up to one ounce of cannabis and cultivate, harvest, and store up to five plants for personal use, free of criminal sanction — with the General Assembly regulating production, processing, and sale.

That proposal mirrors HB225. Kentucky is not a ballot-initiative state, so the General Assembly has to put a constitutional amendment before voters. Our petition shows legislators the people are ready.

One standard. Every county. Every zipcode. No more lottery.

Justice should not depend on your zipcode. It should depend on the Constitution.

Take action

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