Blacks more likely to be arrested for marijuana than whites-nationwide!
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June 23, 2013The ACLU study used FBI crime reporting statistics and census data to track marijuana possession arrest rates by race from 2001 to 2010. The results show that blacks were busted for possession more often than whites virtually everywhere in America. It’s not an urban or regional phenomenon — in 96 percent of counties with 30,000 or more people and at least a 2 percent black population, blacks were arrested more often.
Blacks were arrested 3.73 times more often on average, but in certain cities and states, the racial disparity is staggering. In Iowa and Washington, D.C., blacks were arrested more than eight times as often as whites.
The arrest figures stand in stark comparison to data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, which shows that whites consistently report comparable but slightly higher rates of marijuana use than blacks.
Possession Busts on the Rise
The wildly disproportionate impact of marijuana prohibition on blacks is not the only ominous trend highlighted in the ACLU report. The arrest statistics show that arrests for marijuana possession are on the rise at a time when support for marijuana legalization has never been higher.
Marijuana possession comprised 46 percent of drug arrests nationwide in 2010. That same year, 88 percent of all marijuana arrests were for possession alone.
Marijuana possession arrests have risen steadily since 1990, even during years when overall drug arrests were in decline. The arrest rate rose 18 percent percent between 2001 and 2010, 51 percent between 1995 and 2010, and an incredible 193 percent between 1990 and 2010.
The New Jim Crow Laws?
The ACLU report is the first to examine this nationwide trend using the latest FBI arrest data.
Marijuana possession comprised 46 percent of drug arrests nationwide in 2010. That same year, 88 percent of all marijuana arrests were for possession alone.
Marijuana possession arrests have risen steadily since 1990, even during years when overall drug arrests were in decline. The arrest rate rose 18 percent percent between 2001 and 2010, 51 percent between 1995 and 2010, and an incredible 193 percent between 1990 and 2010.
About Martin E. Regan, Jr.
Year after year, Martin E. Regan Jr., the firm’s senior partner, has dedicated tireless efforts on behalf of the accused and produce wins for clients that a less determined advocate would have thought hopeless. Martin E. Regan Jr.’s ability to tackle and win tough criminal cases has resulted in verdicts of acquittal in many highly publicized trials.
