Would People of Color Still Be Arrested for Weed 10x More Than Whites if the Police Had to Record Race and Gender on Every Stop?

An examination of the residential addresses of individuals arrested in New York State spanning from 1980 to 2021 has exposed significant disparities in cannabis-related arrests. Some areas registered arrest rates that were up to 10 times higher than the state average. New York City emerged as the focal point of marijuana-related arrests, reaching an approximate total of one million. According to NYPD data, over 94 percent of arrests and summonses for marijuana violations and offenses in 2020 targeted New Yorkers of color.