WASHINGTON, DC — Marijuana-related violations comprise over ten percent of the total number of annual arrests in many counties, particularly those in the Midwest and in Texas, according to an analysis by The Washington Post of newly released county-level arrest figures compiled by the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research.
It reported that Georgia, Idaho, New Jersey, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Texas included counties where marijuana enforcement accounts for over ten percent of all criminal arrests. In Dooley County, Georgia, marijuana-related arrests comprised 55 percent of all arrests — the highest percentage in the nation.
Arrest data for counties in Florida and Illinois was not available.
Nationwide, marijuana-related arrests comprised nearly six percent of all arrests in 2017, up from just over three percent in 1995. Police made 659,700 marijuana-related arrests in 2017, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Ninety-one percent of those arrested were charged with violating marijuana possession laws.
Tags: Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research, marijuana arrests
