TEN COUNTIES ACCOUNT FOR A THIRD OF MARIJUANA ARRESTS

NORML: Report shows pot laws are enforced selectively

More than a third of all marijuana arrests nationwide are made in 10
counties, according to a study of police arrest data released Tuesday.

The study found that Alaska, New York, Nebraska, Mississippi and South
Carolina had the highest marijuana arrest rates in the country, even though
the first four states de-criminalized light pot use decades ago. In those
states, as well as in Oregon, California, Maine, Colorado, Minnesota, Ohio
and North Carolina, possession of a small amount of pot, typically less than
an ounce, is punishable by fines that range from $ 200 to $ 400.

The study is by the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws
(NORML), which advocates the legalization of marijuana use. It reviewed more
than 1.4 million arrest reports from 1995 through 1997. Its authors say the
results illustrate selective enforcement and inconsistent punishment, even
from one county to anther within the same state.

Critics of the survey say marijuana arrests -- which have doubled over the
past two decades to roughly 670,000 a year -- indicate the laws are working.
"As long as it's illegal, it has to be treated that way, with aggressive
enforcement," says Natalie Olson, a spokesman for Families First, an
anti-drug organization based in New York. That state led the nation in
marijuana arrests in 1997 with 73,380.

Fulton County, Ga., which includes Atlanta, led counties with populations
over 250,000, with 775 pot arrests for every 100,000 people. Five counties
in New York were among the top 10 counties with populations over 250,000;
they accounted for more than 38% of pot arrests. The rest of the top 10:
Douglas County, Neb.; Guilford County, N.C.; East Baton Rouge Parish, La.;
and Jefferson County, Texas.

Alaska was the nation's toughest enforcer, with an arrest rate of 418 per
100,000 people. Pennsylvania, North Dakota and Hawaii had the lowest arrest
rates, with fewer than 135 arrests per 100,000 people.

Allen St. Pierre of NORML said analysts were surprised to see that the top
four states in marijuana enforcement had decriminalized light marijuana use
in the '70s. "Some states have a full enforcement apparatus set up, either
for political reasons or to bend the laws as much as possible," he said.

Although smaller counties had fewer total arrests, some had astronomical
arrest rates. In Hudspeth County, Texas, which has a population of 3,200,
there was roughly one arrest for marijuana for every 15 residents in 1997.
"That's what you get when you live in small towns," resident Edward Welch
said. "Everyone knows your business. And I'm sure the cops can smell it a
mile away."