10 Things You Need to Know About Marijuana Use in America
Blacks face harsher enforcement for pot use.
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Racial Disparities in Marijuana Arrests - African-Americans and whites are using marijuana at the same rate, but Blacks are nearly four times more likely to be arrested for possessing it. Police receive thousands of tax dollars yearly for these arrests, revealing a troubling numbers game. The American Civil Liberties Union breaks down these disparities in a new study, The War On Marijuana In Black and White. — Natelege Whaley(Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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Who’s Using Marijuana? - The 2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health reported that 39.26 percent of those surveyed have used marijuana in their lifetimes. Between 2009 and 2010, 30.4 percent of 18- to 25-year-olds reported having used marijuana at least once in the past month. (Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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Marijuana Arrests Make Up More Than Half of Drug Arrests - Marijuana arrests have increased between 2001 and 2010 and now account for more than half (52 percent) of all drug arrests in the United States, and marijuana possession arrests account for nearly half (46 percent) of all drug arrests. (Photo: REUTERS/John Gress /Landov)
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One Marijuana Arrest Every 37 Seconds - In 2010, there was one marijuana arrest every 37 seconds. (Photo: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
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More Marijuana Arrests Than Violent Crime Arrests - In 2010, there were 889,133 marijuana arrests — 300,000 more than arrests for all violent crimes combined. (Photo: REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson)
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Marijuana Use Is Equal Among Blacks and Whites - Marijuana use is roughly equal among Blacks and whites. In 2010, 14 percent of Blacks and 12 percent of whites reported using marijuana in the past year. In 2001, the figure was 10 percent of whites and 9 percent of Blacks. (Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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States Spent More Than $3.6 Billion on Marijuana Enforcement Laws - The ACLU estimates the total national expenditure of enforcing marijuana possession laws at approximately $3.613 billion. In 2010, states spent an estimated $1,747,157,206 policing marijuana possession arrests, $1,371,200,815 adjudicating marijuana possession cases, and $495,611,826 incarcerating individuals for marijuana possession.(Photo: Steven Mark Needham/Getty Images)
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D.C., New York and Maryland Spend the Most on Arrests - The highest per capita fiscal expenditures enforcing marijuana possession laws in 2010 were, in order: the District of Columbia, New York, Maryland, Illinois and Wyoming, followed closely by Nevada, Delaware, New Jersey and Connecticut. (Photo: Allison Joyce/Getty Images)
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Racial Disparities in Marijuana Possession Arrests Have Increased - Racial disparities in marijuana possession arrests have increased in 38 of the 50 states (and in the District of Columbia) over the past decade. The states where the disparities have increased the most since 2001 are Alaska (+384 percent), Minnesota (+231 percent) and Wisconsin (+153 percent). (Photo: Guillermo Arias/ XINHUA /LANDOV)