In Illinois , African-Americans make up 15 % of the population -- but account for 58 % of the marijuana-possession arrests , according to the American Civil Liberties Union . In Alabama , African-Americans make up less than 25 % of the population -- but 60 % of the marijuana-possession arrests , the ACLU says . And in Minnesota 31 % of people arrested for marijuana possession are black , while African-Americans make up just 5 % of the state 's population , the organization adds . Those are just some of the statistics put forth by the ACLU in a new report that the organization says shows wide racial disparities in marijuana arrest rates nationwide . Using numbers it says come from FBI/Uniform Crime Reporting Program Data statistics and U.S. Census Data , the ACLU report tracks marijuana arrests by race and county in all 50 states and the District of Columbia . It concludes that the nationwide rate of marijuana-possession arrests for blacks is nearly four times greater than for whites , when arrest totals are compared with proportions of the population . And the ACLU says the findings show racial disparities in marijuana arrests have grown significantly over the past 10 years . Counting both juvenile and adult arrests , rates for whites have remained steady at about 192 arrests per 100,000 people . But the arrest rate for blacks rose from 537 per 100,000 in 2001 to 716 per 100,000 in 2010 , according to the report , meaning that proportionately , blacks are 3.7 times more likely than whites to be arrested for marijuana . DEA : Suburban mom by day , pot grower by night . According to the ACLU , the racial disparity may still be greater . The FBI/Uniform Crime Reporting Program arrest data does not distinguish between white and Latino arrests because it does not identify Latinos as a distinct racial group , meaning Latinos arrested for marijuana possession are counted with whites . Increasing arrest rates do n't correlate to marijuana usage rates by race , according to data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health 2001-2012 cited in the ACLU report . Among 18-25 year olds -- a group with higher arrest rates than other age groups , according to the report -- more whites than blacks said they used marijuana in surveys every year between 2001 and 2010 . In 2010 , for example , 27.6 % of African-Americans ages 18-25 and 33.4 % of whites in the same age group said they had used marijuana in the previous 12 months . Joseph Occhipinti , executive director of the National Police Defense Foundation , says despite the numbers , the disparity in arrest rates is n't racially motivated . Occhipinti , who had n't read the ACLU report but was familiar with it , said location and police intelligence were the main factors in marijuana arrests . `` Whenever we talk about drug enforcement , it 's predicated by intelligence and reports of activity , '' he says , `` not race or ethnic group . '' Occhipinti continues , `` These days police have close scrutiny , and the words 'racial profiling ' scare most cops . They just want to do their jobs . '' But Ezekiel Edwards , director of the ACLU Criminal Law Reform Project and one of the primary authors of the new report , argues that racial disparity in marijuana arrests only cause more problems for people of color . `` The aggressive policing of marijuana is time-consuming , costly , racially biased , and does n't work , '' says Edwards . `` These arrests have a significant detrimental impact on people 's lives , as well as on the communities in which they live . '' The ACLU study estimates that combined , U.S. states spent over $ 3.6 billion enforcing marijuana possession laws in 2010 , and there was one marijuana arrest every 37 seconds . According to the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy , `` Marijuana is a harmful drug and its use should be prevented and treated -- not promoted . '' But Robert MacCoun , professor of public policy and law at the University of California at Berkeley , says arrests do n't prevent marijuana use . `` These arrests rarely result in prosecution , and there is no basis for believing this is a deterrent , '' he told CNN . `` It 's hard to see the purpose being served . The only use I can see is putting certain people , and in this case young black men , on notice . When you look at the statistical pattern , it 's hard not to see this as racial profiling . ''
The report cites what it says are wide differences in arrest rates for marijuana possession . Specifically : By population proportion , rates for blacks are nearly 4 times greater than whites . The president of a police group says the disparity is n't racially motivated . They are based on ` ` intelligence and ... . ... not race or ethnic background ''