tHe War on MariJUana in BlacK anD WHite

While there were pronounced racial disparities in marijuana possession arrests 10 years
ago, the disparities have increased 32.7% between 2001 and 2010. In fact, while the
white arrest rate has remained constant at around 192 per 100,000, the Black arrest rate
has gone from 537 per 100,000 in 2001 (and 521 per 100,000 in 2002) to 716 per 100,000
in 2010. Hence, it appears that the increase in marijuana possession arrest rates overall
is largely a result of an increase in arrests of Blacks. See Figure 10.
FIGURE10
ArrestRatesforMarijuanaPossessionbyRace(2001-2010)
ArrestRatesper100,000
800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Source:FBI/UniformCrimeReportingProgramDataandU.S.CensusData
ii. State data
WhiteArrestRate BlackArrestRate
In Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois, and the District of Columbia, Blacks are almost eight times
more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than whites. In Wisconsin, Kentucky,
and Pennsylvania, a Black person is over five times more likely to be arrested than a
white person for marijuana possession. In over one-third of the states, Blacks are more
than four times as likely to be arrested. See Table 6.
48 | The <strong>War</strong> on Marijuana in Black and White