Is Race a Factor in Marijuana-Related Arrests in Howard County?

Want to smoke marijuana in Howard County? You’ll have better luck getting away with it if you’re white than if you’re black.

In fact, the rate of black people arrested for marijuana possession in Howard County is “stunning,” according to a report released by the ACLU that compares rates of marijuana possession arrests for black and white people in the United States.

“Despite the fact that marijuana is used at comparable rates by whites and Blacks, state and local governments have aggressively enforced marijuana laws selectively against Black people and communities,” the report reads. 

The War on Marijuana, in Black and White, is attached to this article as a .PDF.

Maryland has the fourth highest number of arrests for possession in the country regardless of race—about 409 out of 100,000 people in the state have been arrested for having marijuana. The national average is about 256 per 100,000. 

In counties with more wealth, black people are two to eight times more likely to be arrested for possession than white people.

As local officials are fond of reminding us, Howard County is one of the wealthiest counties in the country. And in Howard County, black people are more than four times more likely to be arrested than white people, according to the report. Another way of looking at it: 837 black people per 100,000 residents are arrested for possession.

A Howard County Police spokesperson said the department did not have a comment about the report. 

Wealth aside, Baltimore City had the highest discrepancy in arrest rates in Maryland—black people are five times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than white people.

The study did not include arrest rates of people who were described as any race other than either "black" or "white."