Study Finds Blacks More Likely to Be Arrested for Marijuana Possession

Even as research shows that blacks and whites use marijuana at similar rates, a nationwide study of law enforcement records has found that blacks are almost four times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than whites.  

Between 2001 and 2010, there were 8 million marijuana arrests in the United States, or one pot arrest every 37 seconds at an annual cost of $3.6 billion, according to a report from the American Civil Liberties Union released Tuesday. 

In San Mateo County, blacks accounted for more than 10 percent of all misdemeanor marijuana arrests reported to the California Department of Justice in 2010. According to the U.S. Census, blacks made up less than 3 percent of San Mateo County's population that year.  

By comparison, whites made up more than 53 percent of the county's population in 2010 but accounted for less than 37 percent of the misdemeanor marijuana arrests.  

Misdemeanor marijuana arrests in San Mateo County have steadily risen since 2008, until a sharp drop in 2011. While the ACLU study found that half of all drug arrests nationwide were for marijuana possession, low-level pot busts in the county made up about 40 percent of all misdemeanor drug arrests between 2002 and 2011.