Published:
Friday, November 2, 2012
A recent report prepared by the Marijuana Arrest Research Project sheds light on the tremendous amount of resources Washington state has devoted to marijuana law enforcement over the last 25 years. There have been over 240,000 arrests for adult marijuana possession, consuming over $300 million in taxpayer money, since 1986. And people of color are the most likely to be arrested for marijuana possession in Washington state.
Disturbingly, racially disproportionate enforcement is getting worse. Using data from the Marijuana Arrest Research Project report, the ACLU of Washington has produced an infographic to visualize this increasing disparity.
Sources:
-Arrest, Population, and Disparity - (http://www.marijuana-arrests.com/docs/240,000-Marijuana-Arrests-In-Washington.pdf, page 11, 14)
-Marijuana Use Data - (http://www.dshs.wa.gov/pdf/dbhr/2010%20Trends%20Report%20links.pdf, page 62)
-Criminal Records – (https://aclu-wa.org/sites/default/files/attachments/Marijuana%20Booklet2010reading%20copy.pdf, page 3)
