Black people are about 3.1 times as likely to be arrested for marijuana possession as white people in Essex County, according to a recent report from the American Civil Liberties Union.
On Monday – the cannabis "holiday" of 4/20 – the ACLU released a nationwide study that analyzed marijuana arrests from 2010 to 2018. (See the full methodology)
Essex County's ratio of 3.1 to 1 was slightly lower than New Jersey's average, where black people were 3.5 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession as white people, the ACLU said.
The highest disparity was in Hunterdon County, where the ratio was 13.7 to 1 during 2018. The lowest was in Hudson County, where the ratio was 1.9 to 1. (See statewide statistics)