Wilmington Marijuana Arrests Persists Despite Changing Laws

Unsure about North Carolina's changing marijuana laws and whether you can still get into trouble? You're not alone. That's why Shoresides is analyzing police records to uncover who’s still being penalized for marijuana possession and why.

In May, the federal government advanced a measure that’d remove marijuana from the most restricted drugs list. But in North Carolina, the situation is more complex. Small amounts of recreational marijuana have been decriminalized for decades, making it quasi-legal to carry a half-ounce or less and pay a $200 fine. Police officers have the option to issue citations for larger quantities. Additionally, Hemp stores in North Carolina now openly sell “hemp” products containing small and legal amounts of Delta 9 THC, and there’s an ongoing effort–Senate Bill 711– to legalize marijuana here for medical use.

Despite the progress, marijuana enforcement remains a concern for community members, particularly in cities like Wilmington, where officers file several hundred marijuana charges per year. 

Public records obtained by Shoresides show that from 2016 to 2023, the Wilmington Police Department (WPD) filed over 5,000 marijuana charges, with roughly 84 percent filed as misdemeanors and the majority– 70 percent–for minor marijuana infractions like possession of more than a half ounce or paraphernalia, according to a Shoresides analysis. 

“In North Carolina marijuana possession is still illegal,” Lieutenant Willet Greg, a spokesperson for the department told Shoresides in an email. “Is it a priority or something we are focusing resources on? No it is not, social norms change and over time the laws enacted by the legislative branch of government typically catch up with those norms.” 

All of the infractions turned over to Shoresides through our public records request involved amounts of marijuana that were equal to or in excess of a half-ounce. But that doesn’t mean the department has ceased penalizing people for carrying less, Willet explained. Data related to those charges aren’t readily accessible. “In order to find data for anyone charged with below a half ounce of marijuana it would require our one analyst to go through every marijuana arrest within those years. That is due to the way the law is written regarding amounts of marijuana and how the data is retained within our records system,” he said. “I’m sure there are people that have been charged with that amount.”

In October 2016, a 12-year-old identified in a police report as an African-American male was arrested for marijuana possession and paraphernalia at Williston Middle School. (Paraphernalia might be anything from a plastic baggie to a glass pipe.) In July 2023, a 33-year-old identified in a police report as a white female employed by John Metts Insurance, was arrested on roughly the same charges at a local hotel. 

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