The Massive Racial Disparities In Arrests For Pot Possession
-- Blacks are 3.73 times more likely to be arrest for pot possession than whites. The regions with the largest disparity: the Northeast and Midwest. The region with the smallest: the West.

-- The states with the highest racial disparity in per capita pot possession arrests: Iowa (blacks are 8.34 times more likely to be arrested), Minnesota (8.05), Illinois (7.81), Wisconsin (7.56), and Kentucky (5.95).

-- The black arrest rate for pot possession is below 300 per 100,000 residents in only two states, Hawaii and Massachusetts. The white arrest rate for pot possession is above 300 per 100,000 residents in only three states: Wyoming, Nebraska, and Alaska. The black arrest rate was below 500 in only 10 states. The white arrest rate was over 400 in zero states.

-- The black/white arrest rate disparity for pot possession has only grown over the last 10 years. The disparity has grown most in Alaska, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Ohio.

A common rejoinder to the racial disparities in arrest rates or incarceration rates is that, proportionately, black people commit more crimes than white white people. But that argument doesn't explain away these figures. These, again, are for pot possession. Meaning, these people were arrested with enough pot for personal use, but not enough to charge them with distribution. In other words, most of these people were arrested for using. And as the ACLU report points out, numerous studies have shown that blacks and whites use marijuana at about the same rate. In fact, in 2010, 34 percent of whites reported having used marijuana in the previous year, versus just 27 percent of blacks....