Dear Lindsay,

We know that going to jail is scary. But we can assure you that your experience at the women's facility in Lynwood, outside Los Angeles, is likely to be starkly different from the thousands of others serving time and awaiting trial in the Los Angeles jails. Based on the ACLU's decades of experience as an official court-appointed monitor of the jails, and the stories of countless women with whom we've spoken, the facility where you are staying is an overcrowded detention facility where women are needlessly humiliated for so long that they come to expect sub-human treatment.

It's a place where an eight month pregnant woman was forced to sleep on the floor because she could not access the top bunk to which she was assigned. A place where women have said they are made to stand naked while menstruating, as they waited for jail-issued clothes. And a place where women routinely tell us they cannot get access to the same medications they took in the community (though we doubt that you will face this same problem.)

Group punishments and degrading group strip searches are routine, as are reports of deputies calling women 'bitches' and other derogatory names. And while you get private visits with your family and friends, every other woman's visitors must wait in long lines on the weekends.

We know from the more than 4,500 complaints we receive annually that the women's facility is a lot nicer than the Men's Central Jail - where rats roam the tiers, and violence is as routine as sunshine in California. We've seen men with broken legs and black eyes. It's not uncommon for a prisoner to be thrown up against the wall or punched, simply for asking a deputy a question. In May of this year, the ACLU's National Prison Project and the ACLU of Southern California - which jointly serve as official jail monitors - released a joint report that documents a prisoner's experience in which deputies severely beat him and threatened him if he should report it. He said he was returning from meeting with his attorney, when a few deputies surrounded him and started kicking and hitting him. They bruised his nose and forehead, split his lip, and sprained his arm. And there are dozens of stories just like this one.

Lindsay, even though it's going to be difficult for you to be incarcerated even for a few weeks, rest assured that your celebrity is something that we who frequently visit Los Angeles's jails see as an opportunity to draw attention to conditions in the jails. You will have a window into the world of Los Angeles jails, and we hope you will use it to talk to the press about conditions here.

Dear Lindsay,

We know that going to jail is scary. But we can assure you that your experience at the women's facility in Lynwood, outside Los Angeles, is likely to be starkly different from the thousands of others serving time and awaiting trial in the Los Angeles jails. Based on the ACLU's decades of experience as an official court-appointed monitor of the jails, and the stories of countless women with whom we've spoken, the facility where you are staying is an overcrowded detention facility where women are needlessly humiliated for so long that they come to expect sub-human treatment.

It's a place where an eight month pregnant woman was forced to sleep on the floor because she could not access the top bunk to which she was assigned. A place where women have said they are made to stand naked while menstruating, as they waited for jail-issued clothes. And a place where women routinely tell us they cannot get access to the same medications they took in the community (though we doubt that you will face this same problem.)

Group punishments and degrading group strip searches are routine, as are reports of deputies calling women '''bitches' and other derogatory names. And while you get private visits with your family and friends, every other woman's visitors must wait in long lines on the weekends.

We know from the more than 4,500 complaints we receive annually that the women's facility is a lot nicer than the Men's Central Jail - where rats roam the tiers, and violence is as routine as sunshine in California. We've seen men with broken legs and black eyes. It'''s not uncommon for a prisoner to be thrown up against the wall or punched, simply for asking a deputy a question. In May of this year, the ACLU's National Prison Project and the ACLU of Southern California ''' which jointly serve as official jail monitors - released a joint report that documents a prisoner's experience in which deputies severely beat him and threatened him if he should report it. He said he was returning from meeting with his attorney, when a few deputies surrounded him and started kicking and hitting him. They bruised his nose and forehead, split his lip, and sprained his arm. And there are dozens of stories just like this one.

Lindsay, even though it's going to be difficult for you to be incarcerated even for a few weeks, rest assured that your celebrity is something that we who frequently visit Los Angeles's jails see as an opportunity to draw attention to conditions in the jails. You will have a window into the world of Los Angeles jails, and we hope you will use it to talk to the press about conditions here.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The California affiliates of the American Civil Liberties Union today announced their endorsement of Proposition 19, the initiative on the November 2010 ballot that would allow state regulation of marijuana.

Enforcement of marijuana prohibition consumes a great deal of California’s law enforcement and court system resources, and has a disproportionate impact on communities of color. Proposition 19 would allow adults age 21 and older to possess and grow small amounts of their own marijuana for personal use, and would allow cities and counties to regulate and tax commercial sales. Unless individual cities and counties enact local regulatory structures, marijuana sale would remain illegal under state law.

The three California affiliates of the ACLU have 96,000 members combined and join a broad coalition supporting Proposition 19’s common sense approach to controlling marijuana. Supporters of the initiative include former U.S. Surgeon General Jocelyn Elders, the California NAACP, labor unions, and law enforcement officials from around the state.

In 2008, California police made 60,000 marijuana possession arrests, the majority of them young men of color. The arrests, however, do not indicate actual marijuana usage. A new report from the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) reveals distinct racial disparities in California arrests for low-level marijuana possession. Data in the report reveal that African Americans in California are more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than whites, but more white youth use marijuana than black youth.

“California makes tens of thousands of arrests each year for simply possessing small amounts of marijuana. These arrests overload our already stressed courts and jails and divert scarce public safety dollars that could be used to address violent crime,” said Kelli M. Evans, associate director at the ACLU of Northern California.

The California Legislative Analyst’s Office cites that Proposition 19 would allow “redirection of court and law enforcement resources to solving violent crimes.”

“The significant racial disparities in marijuana possession arrests have serious consequences, for young men of color in particular. The impact of a misdemeanor conviction for marijuana possession creates barriers in finding a house, a job, and even a school loan,” said Ramona Ripston, ACLU/SC executive director.

In Los Angeles County alone, the marijuana possession arrest rate of African Americans is more than 300% higher than the same arrest rate of whites, although blacks made up less than 10% of the county’s population, according to the DPA report.

“Proposition 19 is smart policy that would regulate and tax marijuana for adults, just like alcohol and tobacco,” said Kevin Keenan, executive director of the ACLU of San Diego & Imperial Counties.