Study: SC ranks 2nd in rate of marijuana possession arrests, disparity for black people
South Carolina ranks second nationally in the rate of arrests for marijuana possession, and arrests for the charge nationally disproportionately affect African Americans, according to a new study.
The study by the American Civil Liberties Union looked at the rate of marijuana possession arrests from 2010 to 2018 in 49 states (data for Florida was not available for the study) and found that marijuana possession arrests had decreased by an average of 17 percent. But in South Carolina, the rate of arrests increased nearly 53 percent from 2010 to 2018 with a major upswing in arrests between 2016 and 2018.
The study also concluded that black people are significantly more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession across the United States although their rate of marijuana use is similar to those of white people.
The racial disparity of arrests is found in South Carolina. The study showed that seven South Carolina counties placed in the top 20 nationally in the rate of marijuana arrests.
South Carolina law enforcement officers made 34,229 marijuana possession arrests in 2018, the latest year that drug arrest data is available from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. That’s a rate of about 675 arrests per 100,000 people in the Palmetto State. Only South Dakota had a higher rate of marijuana possession arrests, the study shows. South Dakota police made 6138 arrests in 2018 for a rate of about 707 arrests per 100,000 people.
Black people in South Carolina were 3.5 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than white people, which is slightly below the national average but an increase since 2010, the study concluded.
But in some counties the disparity of marijuana possession arrests is much higher, according to the study. In Pickens and Oconee counties, black people are more than eight times more likely to be arrested for possession of marijuana than white people. In Horry County, blacks are almost seven times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than whites. And in Greenville and Lexington counties, blacks are about five and six times more likely to be arrested, respectively.
All of these counties have white populations of more than 75 percent, with Pickens and Oconee being almost 90 percent white, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.