The "gateway" myth debunked

[RainDog]

9. Yes. That's how I misread the initial info

Because I know, as Michelle Alexander has noted, that drug laws are a form of "Jim Crow" laws with mandatory minimums, etc.

Where you live can impact your entire future. If someone is in Louisiana, he or she can serve a life sentence for three arrests for simple possession. In states with decriminalization laws - this doesn't happen.

But stop and frisk laws in NY and Chicago have had just as much impact as traditionally conservative states - so it's not simply about living in a more liberal state - it's about targeting urban populations rather than suburban kids.