by Patrick Appel
A reader writes:
Your summary and Rend Smith's report on Marijuana use and arrests in DC was interesting. However, I am disturbed by misleading presentation of the data. Specifically, the graphic juxtaposing use rates among blacks and whites next to demographic breakdown of all arrests is rather problematic. Given that white and black population are not equal in size, the comparison of behaviors within two different groups with the racial composition of the pool of individuals arrested is not a fair comparison. It does not demonstrate the real difference in how much more likely a black pot smoker is to be arrested than is his white counterpart.
While there is still a rather significant difference here (and Smith notes this in the text — an arrest rate ~8 times greater for blacks than whites), it is disappointing that his article presents a graphic that makes it appear to show even more bias than actually exists. The real difference is significant enough to require no more propagandized exaggeration.
Another curious omission: while whites and blacks appeared to make up 99% of all marijuana arrests in 2007, together they make up a little less than 90% of the population of the District. The remaining 1% of the arrested come from a ~10% of the population, a rate lower than that seen for either of the aforementioned.
As an alternative, a reader recommends this infographic of Chicago marijuana arrests by race. It should be noted that whites outnumber blacks in Chicago.
The Dish 