Black People Far More Likely than Whites to be Arrested for Marijuana in Arlington

Black people in Arlington are nearly eight times more likely to be arrested for marijuana posession as white people, according to a new report from the American Civil Liberties Union.

Perhaps making that figure more striking: Arlington County's population is about 60 percent white, only about 8 percent black, according to the county government demographic information.

The ACLU report is the first to examine marijuana possession arrest rates by race for all 50 states and the district. It looked at the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program and the U.S. Census data between 2001 and 2010.

In that time, there were more than 8 million pot arrests in the United States — more than half of all drug arrests.

The ACLU also found that though blacks and whites tend to use marijuana at similar rates, in 2010 a black person in Virginia was nearly three times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than a white person.

"The War on Marijuana, like the larger War on Drugs of which it is a part, is a failure. It has needlessly ensnared hundreds of thousands of people in the criminal justice system, had a staggeringly disproportionate impact on African-Americans, and comes at a tremendous human and financial cost," the ACLU report states.

• You can read the full ACLU report online here with Virginia-specific data stating on page 181 of the PDF.

Recently, Patch asked readers for their thoughts on whether Virginia should legalize limited quantities of marijuana. In a non-scientific poll, 77 percent said yes.

A Clarendon-Courthouse-Rosslyn Patch reader named Daphne commented, "Stupidity is the reason for crime, mental illness is a reason for crime, the economy is the reason for some crimes, but I have never heard of a laid-back pot head going on a muderous rampage or shooting someone over an ounce of pot..."

Another Patch reader named Scott commented, "If marijuana is legalized, those who revel in the illegality will only shift to more potent and deadly forms of drugs. ... Crime will not go down, medical costs will rise, [and] the increase in tax expenditures will outpace the tax income."

• See: Should Virginia Legalize Marijuana?