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Under the direction of Milwaukee’s District Attorney (DA) John Chisholm, the DA’s office recently released 10 years of data regarding marijuana possession arrests and convictions.
“The Milwaukee District Attorney’s Office supports the transition from criminal enforcement of possession of marijuana to the administrative regulation of marijuana in Wisconsin,” the DA’s office announced. “Our office had for many years previously committed to only narrowly issue charges for possession of marijuana in cases with the presence of guns or violence.”
This exclusive data paints the picture of a Wisconsin divided between its metropolis, Milwaukee (and Madison to a much smaller extent), and the rest of the state. While data in Milwaukee reflects changing times where marijuana possession is not a serious offense anymore, the rest of the Badger State seems frozen in the 20th century.
What Data Teaches Us
In order to give a wide view of the situation in Milwaukee County and the rest of Wisconsin, the District Attorney’s office released no less than 17 datasets distinguishing the city from the state in terms of arrests, convictions and demographics.
Arrests fell in Milwaukee but are unchanged in the rest of the state
In 2010, there were 14,355 arrests in Wisconsin for simple possession of marijuana, of which Milwaukee accounted for nearly 5,000. In 2019, Milwaukee saw fewer than 2,000 such arrests, while the rest of the state remained above 14,000.
While statewide arrest trends remain above 14,000 per year, the total actually significantly increased between 2015 and 2018, going as high as 17,400 in 2018. “2018 saw the highest amount of arrests in 10 years—a 21.4% increase compared to 2010,” the DA announced.
Milwaukee, on the other hand, cut its arrests by half in the same timeframe. The county used to be vastly overrepresented compared to the rest of the state—Milwaukee County made roughly one out of three marijuana-related arrests in the state in 2010, far more than could be expected given the county’s population. That number is now less-than-proportional, making Milwaukee County a relatively safe place for marijuana users in the state.
Convictions for possession dropped by more than 95% in Milwaukee
There are four types of marijuana convictions: it can be either a misdemeanor (for a first offense) or a felony (subsequent offenses), and it can be either a marijuana possession conviction alone or include a non-possession charge. The DA’s data teaches us that nearly half of the recorded convictions with an additional charge include resisting arrest, bail jumping or possession of drug paraphernalia—which can be as benign as owning a lighter or grinder to smoke weed.
Convictions that include no other charge have seen the greatest decrease, in large part due to the District Attorney’s outspoken stance that only violent offenders should be charged. In Milwaukee County, they fell more than 95% in 10 years, from 1,129 convictions in 2010 to just 51 convictions in 2019. That same year, there were only 47 misdemeanor marijuana convictions and only four felony convictions in Milwaukee.
The rest of Wisconsin, however, did not follow this trend. Convictions for simple possession, with no additional charge, went from 3,688 in 2010 to 2,422 in 2019—a 34% decrease, a very long shot from Milwaukee’s 95% decrease.
“We focused on diverting or declining cases, like possession of marijuana, away from the justice system when appropriate,” the DA explained. “This practice informed a D.A. policy implemented in 2015 to not prosecute non-violent individuals who possess 28 grams or less of marijuana.”
This translated to a much higher arrest count per conviction in Milwaukee County: In 2010, one in every four arrests for marijuana possession led to a conviction; in 2019, it was only one out of 20 arrests.
Black people are more than three times as likely to be arrested for marijuana possession in Milwaukee
“Milwaukee County's arrest disparity is lower than Wisconsin, but Black people are 3.2 times more likely than White people to be arrested,” says the District Attorney, as opposed to 4.2 times in the rest of Wisconsin. In Ozaukee County, the worst county in Wisconsin in regard to this disparity, black residents are 34.9 times more likely than white residents to be arrested despite a similar rate of marijuana use.
It is when it comes to convictions, however, that the rest of Wisconsin is put to shame. Statewide, black people are 4.3 times more likely than white people to be convicted, which is still better than how it used to be: In 2010, black people were 9.5 times more likely than their white counterparts to be convicted for marijuana possession.
“This decline in Black marijuana possession convictions is driven entirely by Milwaukee County,” the DA reveals. Outside of Milwaukee, which saw a 95% drop in convictions of black residents for minor marijuana possession, the Badger State is failing to address racial equality questions relating to marijuana.
“In 2019, Milwaukee's Black conviction rate is 1.7 per 10,000—considerably lower than the statewide rate of 14 convictions per 10,000,” the DA explains. However, “despite this large drop overall, absolute disparities between White and Black convictions are larger in 2019 than in 2010.”
“There are striking disparities in Black marijuana possession convictions outside Milwaukee County. In 2019, Milwaukee County had 69% of the state's Black population, but only 8% of its marijuana possession convictions. 92% of Black marijuana possession convictions occur outside Milwaukee County, despite the rest of Wisconsin representing only 31% of the Black population.”
