According to a survey by The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (part of the US Department of Health and Human Services) in 2011, the rate of marijuana use was 11.5% for both whites and blacks. However, blacks are arrested at far greater rates for small amounts of marijuana possession in every state, from 1.6 times in Hawaii to 8.3 times in Iowa. The national average is 3.7 times.
For instance, in Charlotte, North Carolina, it is up to the police officer to arrest or give a citation to someone with less than half an ounce of marijuana. Blacks are arrested at a rate three times greater than whites.
Another example, in Cook County, IL (where Chicago is), nearly 73% of those arrested for marijuana possession were black. Most arrests occurred in neighborhoods that were 90% or more non-white, with the greatest number of arrests occurring on the South and West sides of Chicago.
Having an arrest on your record affects everything from being able to find housing to finding a job. This is one of the consequences of breaking the law, yes, but the consequence is not meted out fairly.
References:
Marijuana use by race -
http://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/NSDUH-DetTabsPDFWHTML2011-web/NSDUH-DetTabsPDFWHTML2011/PDFW/NSDUH-DetTabsSect1peTabs24to28-2011.pdf (pg 4)
Arrest rate of blacks significantly higher -
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/29/opinion/high-time-the-injustice-of-marijuana-arrests.html (links to several studies within article as well as a sobering graphic on the left sidebar)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2013/06/04/the-blackwhite-marijuana-arrest-gap-in-nine-charts/ (lots of graphs demonstrating the wide disparity in arrest rates)
Charlotte, NC -
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/crime/article60170981.html
Cook County, IL -
http://www.roosevelt.edu/News_and_Events/News_Articles/2014/20140516-Marijuanastudy.aspx
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