County Criminal Pot Convictions Down 94% Since 2010

Criminal cannabis convictions dropped significantly in Milwaukee County over a 10-year period, but racial gaps remain, according to the recent report by the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office. The report found cannabis arrests dropped dramatically in Milwaukee County from 2010 through 2019, while the state’s arrest numbers remained steady, peaking in 2018 at 17,428. And the racial gas in arrests was far higher outside Milwaukee County.

Statewide, “arrests for possession of marijuana have not decreased below 14,000” per year during the decade, the report said.

But the number of marijuana possession arrests in Milwaukee County dropped 60%, from 4,785 to 1,927 from 2010 to 2019, according to the data. That is a decline of 2,858 arrests.

“Arrests now represent ~ (about) 13% of overall state arrests (down from ~33%), with ~16% of Wisconsin’s population,” the report said.

The number of convictions in the county declined 94% over the same time period, the report said. There were 1,285 convictions in 2010 and just 96 in 2019, a decline of 1,189.

The drop in Milwaukee County convictions drove a statewide decline over the decade, the report said. Convictions for marijuana possession dropped statewide from 5,108 in 2010 to 4,021 in 2019, a decline of 1,087, or 21%.

“Notably, 2018 conviction trends without Milwaukee saw 10-year highs,” the report said. “And felony convictions only decreased ~3% instead of a ~43% decrease.”

Still, racial disparities persist. Black people in 2019 were 3.2 times more likely than Whites to be arrested in Milwaukee County for marijuana possession only, without other crimes attached, according to the report.

The gaps were far larger in some other counties, the report said.

“The worst disparities in Wisconsin are in Ozaukee County (34.9 more likely) and Manitowoc (29.9 more likely),” the report said.

Statewide, according to an earlier ACLU study, Black people were 4.2 times as likely to be arrested for pot possession than Whites.

The new study, by District Attorney John Chisholm and researcher Brandan DuPont, is based on state circuit court records and FBI arrest data. The study is part of the office’s efforts with the National Institute of Corrections Evidence-Based Decision Making Initiative to improve decision-making.

“We focused on diverting or declining cases, like possession of marijuana, away from the justice system when appropriate,” the report said.

In 2015, Chisholm’s office implemented a policy to not prosecute non-violent individuals who possess 28 grams (just under an ounce) or less of marijuana, the report said.

Chisholm said in an interview that his office is unlikely to charge marijuana possession cases unless there is another issue, such as impaired driving, possession of a firearm while impaired, or an associated crime of violence.

Chisholm favors cannabis legalization and regulation.

The policy does not mean that possession cases are not prosecuted at all or that the arrests just disappear.

“I suspect a lot of them are sent to municipal court,” Chisholm said.

Municipalities in the state have the option of prosecuting marijuana possession cases in municipal courts, where offenses are punishable by forfeitures and are considered civil, not criminal matters.

Counties other than Milwaukee County account for much of the racial disparities in convictions, according to the report.

“In 2019, Milwaukee County had 69% of the state’s Black population, but only 8% of its marijuana possession convictions,” the report said. “Ninety-two percent of Black marijuana possession convictions occur outside Milwaukee County, despite the rest of Wisconsin representing only 31% of the Black population.”

Statewide, Black people had 14 convictions per 10,000, while the white conviction rate was 3.27 per 10,000. Black people were 4.3 times more likely than white people to be convicted, according to the report.

In Milwaukee County, both races were less likely to be convicted than elsewhere, but the disparity was larger. The Milwaukee County conviction rate in 2019 was .11 per 10,000 residents for White people and 1.7 per 10,000 for Black people, about 15.5 times higher than for whites.

In 2010 Black people statewide were 9.5 times more likely to be convicted in marijuana possession cases. Black people then had 39.23 convictions per 10,000, compared to white people with 4.1 convictions per 10,000.

The study did not fully examine other racial groups due to a lack of reliable data. It did say, though, that convictions in marijuana possession-only cases for American Indians or Alaskan Natives hit a 10-year high in 2019.

Gretchen Schuldt writes a blog for Wisconsin Justice Initiative, whose mission is “To improve the quality of justice in Wisconsin by educating the public about legal issues and encouraging civic engagement in and debate about the judicial system and its operation.”