Hispanics Less than 20% of U.S. Population, Received 77% of Federal Marijuana Sentences in 2016
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Hispanics received 77% of the federal marijuana sentences in 2016, despite making up less than 20% of the overall U.S. population.
This is according to a new report released by the U.S. Sentencing Commission. The report found that whites made up less than 20% of the federal marijuana sentences given last year, despite making up over 75% of the population, and despite using marijuana at roughly the same rate as Hispanics.
In total there were 3,528 federal marijuana sentences in fiscal-year 2016, with the average sentence being 28 months.
Below is a chart on the racial disparity courtesy of U.S. News:
Chart courtesy of U.S. News.
The 3,528 federal marijuana sentences is separate from the hundreds of thousands of state-level marijuana sentences.