According to the most recent census info, black people make up about 22.5 percent of Dallas County. And according to this recent ACLU study, black and white Americans use marijuana at the same proportional rates. But, in Dallas County in 2010 (the most recent year studied), black people accounted for nearly half of all marijuana possession arrests (2,015 of 4,206, or 47.9 percent). That means that in Dallas, a black person is 2.8 times more likely to be arrested than is a white person for that same crime. In Tarrant County is the rate is 3.1. In Collin County, it’s 1.9. In Denton, it’s 2.7.
Elsewhere in Texas, in Harris County, the rate is 3.0. In Travis County, the rate is 3.3. In Bexar County, it’s 2.2.
The same ACLU study singles out Van Zandt and Cooke Counties (both in North Texas) as particularly problematic. Black people are 34 times and 25 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession there than white people.
