Report: Blacks in Marin Four Times More Likely to Be Arrested for Marijuana Possession

Even as research shows that blacks and whites use marijuana at the same rate, black people in Marin are more than four times likely as whites to be arrested for marijuana possession, according to a nationwide study of law enforcement records.

Marin had the second-highest disparity for marijuana possession arrested between blacks and whites in 2010, according to a report from the American Civil Liberties Union released Tuesday.

Citing statistics from FBI / Uniform Crime Reporting Program Data and U.S. Census Data, the study found that while 507 per 100,000 black Marin residents were arrested for marijuana possession in 2010, only 123 per 100,000 white Marin residents were arrested for the same crime.

As a result, blacks were 4.1 times more likely than whites to be arrested for marijuana possession in 2010, according to the report. Blacks represent 3 percent of the population in Marin, according to U.S. Census data, while whites make up more than 86 percent of Marin residents.

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, the report found.

Click here to read the full report.