Study Finds Illinois Has 3rd Largest Racial Gap in Marijuana Arrests, Cook County Most Arrests

A new report from the American Civicl Liberties Union finds that blacks are much more likely than whites to get arrested for marijuana in the United States, even though usage rates are nearly the same. 

And, Illinois is the third worst offender, according to the report "Billions of Dollars Wasted on Racially Biased Arrests." A black person in Illinois is over 7 times more likely to get arrested for marijuana than a white person, compared to a 3.7 gap nationally. 

According to the ACLU’s original analysis, marijuana arrests now account for over half of all drug arrests in the United States. Of the 8.2 million marijuana arrests between 2001 and 2010, 88% were for simply having marijuana. Nationwide, the arrest data revealed one consistent trend: significant racial bias. Despite roughly equal usage rates, Blacks are 3.73 times more likely than whites to be arrested for marijuana.

The numbers for Cook County are stark. It ranks number one for having the most arrests for possession of marijuana, according to the report. Over 33,000 people were arrested for marijuana possession in Cook County during 2010, a rate of 91 per day.  

Chicago police can issue tickets to individuals found with a small amount of the drug. However, only 380 tickets were issued during the first five months of the new program, according to the Chicago Tribune.