Possession versus Sales

Relatively few arrests made in the war on drugs involve drug importers, manufacturers, major dealers, or even small dealers. As shown in Table 5 and reflected graphically in Figure 3, from 1999 through 2007, 80 percent or more of all drug arrests were for possession rather than sales.[15] Between 1980 and the present, sales arrests have never represented more than 36 percent of all drug arrests. Indeed, the proportion of drug arrests for possession has been increasing.[16] It is worth noting that marijuana possession accounts for a large proportion of all drug arrests: in the years 2000 through 2007, marijuana possession arrests constituted between 37.7 percent and 42.1 percent of all drug arrests.[17]

Possession arrests account for the preponderance of black as well as white drug arrests. As shown in Table 6, 76 percent of black drug arrests and 85 percent of white drug arrests in 2006 were for possession. From the 2006 state by state data provided to us by the UCR Program we were able to calculate the proportion of black and white drug arrests that were for sales or possession. Among black drug arrestees, the proportion who were arrested for possession varied among the states from a low of 33 percent to a high of 96 percent. The percentage of white drug arrestees arrested for possession ranged from a low of 50 percent to a high of 93 percent.

Table 5: US Arrests for Drug Possession and Sales, 1980-2007

Year	Percent for Possession	Percent for Sales
1980	76%	24%
1981	78%	22%
1982	79%	21%
1983	77%	23%
1984	77%	23%
1985	76%	24%
1986	74%	26%
1987	74%	26%
1988	72%	28%
1989	68%	32%
1990	68%	32%
1991	64%	36%
1992	69%	31%
1993	70%	30%
1994	73%	27%
1995	75%	25%
1996	75%	25%
1997	79%	21%
1998	79%	21%
1999	80%	20%
2000	81%	19%
2001	81%	19%
2002	80%	20%
2003	81%	19%
2004	81%	19%
2005	82%	18%
2006	82%	18%
2007	83%	17%

Table 6: State Adult Drug Arrests by Offense and Race, 2006*

State	Sales as Percent of White Drug Arrests	Possession as Percent of White Drug Arrests	Sales as Percent of Black Drug Arrests	Possession as Percent of Black Drug Arrests
Alabama	7%	93%	6%	94%
Alaska	30%	70%	44%	56%
Arizona	13%	87%	16%	84%
Arkansas	16%	84%	19%	81%
California	13%	87%	25%	75%
Colorado	11%	89%	56%	44%
Connecticut	14%	86%	55%	45%
Delaware	28%	72%	45%	55%
District of Columbia	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Florida	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Georgia	23%	77%	22%	78%
Hawaii	22%	78%	20%	80%
Idaho	12%	88%	55%	45%
Illinois	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Indiana	19%	81%	26%	74%
Iowa	10%	90%	11%	90%
Kansas	17%	83%	18%	82%
Kentucky	11%	89%	20%	80%
Louisiana	15%	85%	22%	78%
Maine	21%	79%	42%	58%
Maryland	15%	85%	27%	73%
Massachusetts	25%	75%	44%	56%
Michigan	18%	82%	29%	71%
Minnesota	37%	63%	14%	86%
Mississippi	9%	91%	14%	86%
Missouri	12%	88%	17%	83%
Montana	9%	91%	4%	96%
Nebraska	10%	90%	14%	86%
Nevada	20%	80%	25%	75%
New Hampshire	22%	78%	34%	66%
New Jersey	16%	84%	31%	69%
New Mexico	50%	50%	67%	33%
New York	8%	92%	15%	85%
North Carolina	10%	90%	21%	79%
North Dakota	19%	81%	34%	66%
Ohio	10%	90%	15%	85%
Oklahoma	14%	86%	19%	81%
Oregon	8%	92%	12%	88%
Pennsylvania	28%	72%	47%	53%
Rhode Island	16%	84%	31%	69%
South Carolina	14%	86%	27%	74%
South Dakota	7%	93%	14%	86%
Tennessee	23%	78%	32%	68%
Texas	13%	87%	12%	88%
Utah	12%	88%	13%	87%
Vermont	15%	85%	32%	68%
Virginia	17%	83%	26%	74%
Washington	14%	86%	8%	92%
West Virginia	18%	82%	32%	68%
Wisconsin	16%	84%	33%	68%
Wyoming	10%	90%	10%	90%
National	15%	85%	25%	76%

*Due to rounding, some totals may not equal 100 percent.

[15] Sales arrests refer to arrests for manufacturing, sales, importation and other drug distribution activities. Possession of drugs with intent to sell is usually considered a trafficking or sales offense as it is closely involved with distribution. The UCR Program does notspecify, however, and therefore we do not know, whether some agencies counted possession with intent arrests as possession arrests.

[16] The growing proportion of possession arrests in great part reflects the growing proportion of marijuana possession arrests. Ryan S. King and Marc Mauer, The Sentencing Project, "The War on Marijuana: The Transformation of the War on Drugs in the 1990s," May 2005, http://www.drugpolicy.org/docUploads/nymmj_waronmj.pdf (accessed January 12, 2009).

[17] See the arrest tables for drug violations included in the annual FBI "Crime in the United States" reports. The tables include statistics by region, which can vary considerably. For example, while marijuana possession arrests accounted for 42.1 percent of all drug arrests in 2007, in the Midwest, they accounted for 53.1 percent and in the West, they accounted for 29.6 percent. FBI, "Crime in the United States, 2007."

Table of Contents

Decades of Disparity

Possession versus Sales

Table 5: US Arrests for Drug Possession and Sales, 1980-2007

Table 6: State Adult Drug Arrests by Offense and Race, 2006*