A glimpse into punishment for marijuana possession in Arkansas October 26, 2022 By Griffin Coop Earlier this month, President Joe Biden urged governors to follow his lead and issue pardons for simple marijuana possession offenses at the state level. Governor Hutchinson quickly said he would not do that and later used his weekly address to detail his criticisms of Biden’s new marijuana policies. The governor of Kentucky, by contrast, has decided to pardon misdemeanor possession and has already created an application process. Other states, like Pennsylvania and Colorado, had already begun to pardon such offenses. We were curious how many people in Arkansas might fall under the category of offenses that Biden urged governors to help, so we contacted the Arkansas Division of Corrections. The answer is complicated and tells part, but not all, of the story. There are nine individuals who are incarcerated with the Arkansas Department of Corrections or at Arkansas Community Correction Centers for possession of “small weights” of marijuana, according to Cindy Murphy, communications director for the Department of Corrections. The department defined “small weight” as being less than 100 pounds. Of those nine individuals, five are being held in Community Correction Centers, two are being held in county jails awaiting space at Department of Corrections facilities, one is in a Department of Corrections facility and one is serving a concurrent sentence in another state. Lt. Governor Tim Griffin referenced these nine individuals while expressing his disdain for marijuana (and poets) during the debate for Attorney General last week. In addition to those incarcerated, there are 57 individuals who are on community supervision for simple possession of marijuana. Of those 57 individuals, six are on parole, 41 are on probation and 10 are on a suspended sentence, Murphy said via email. These numbers tell only a part of the story. First, there are plenty of individuals who have completed their sentences but have marijuana possession charges on their records. Murphy said she didn’t have those figures. Second, these figures do not account for individuals charged with misdemeanor possession at the county level. A first offense for possession of four ounces or less of marijuana in Arkansas is a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year of incarceration and a maximum fine of $2,500. Delivery of 14 grams or less is a misdemeanor and carries the same punishments, according to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. Third, these figures don’t account for the marijuana charges that result from arrests that include other charges. I reported last year for the Arkansas Nonprofit News Network on an increase in marijuana charges in Arkansas and nationwide, according to a report from the American Civil Liberties Union. Between 2010 and 2018, marijuana arrests in Arkansas rose by nearly 50%, according to a report published last year by the American Civil Liberties Union. Law enforcement agencies in the state made over 10,000 arrests for marijuana offenses in 2018 alone, 90% of which were for possession. The ACLU also found Black people in Arkansas were arrested for marijuana offenses at more than twice the rate of white people, though the national disparity was even larger. Since that story has been published early last year, reports show marijuana arrests have fallen but are still greater than 9,000 each year.
