These NY counties have the state's highest rates of marijuana arrests

As the state's lawmakers contemplate making recreational marijuana legal, new Federal Bureau of Investigations data shows nearly 5% of all arrests in New York are for possession of the drug.

Overall, approximately 6% of arrests nationwide resulted from marijuana possession, according to recently released county-level Federal Bureau of Investigations data for 2016, the most recent available. The data tracks arrests, not individuals and reporting is typically made for the most serious allegation. 

As is the case across the country, there's wide disparity among New York's counties when it comes to marijuana possession arrests, reflecting differing levels of enforcement. Medical use has been legal in the state since 2014.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has pledged that New York will pass a law to legalize recreational pot before the Legislature adjourns in June. Plans to include such legislation in the recently-passed $175 billion state budget fizzled, as lawmakers could not resolve issues over how much to tax it, where the revenue would go, who could grow it, how previous marijuana arrests would be handled and which communities could opt out of allowing sales within their borders.

Among the state's 62 counties, Monroe County comes in near the bottom in marijuana arrests as a percentage of all arrests, with those arrests comprising just about 4% of total arrests. Meanwhile the lowest percentage of marijuana arrests comes in Suffolk County on Long Island, where just 3% of arrests were for cannabis possession.

Here are the top five counties for marijuana possession arrests in New York:

Hamilton County

This 1,808 square-mile county in north-central New York tops the state's marijuana arrest list. Nearly half — 44% — of all arrests in the county in 2016 were for possession of the drug. Hamilton's numbers are the second-highest in the nation, coming behind only Dooley County, Georgia, where 55% of all arrests were for marijuana possession.

Columbia County 

In this 63,000-resident county in the Hudson Valley, marijuana possession arrests accounted for about 23% of all arrests in 2016. Of 1,729 total arrests that year, 378 were for possessing cannabis.

Washington County

In this rural Capital District county bordering Vermont — where recreational marijuana became legal last summer — nearly 18% of arrests in 2016 were for possession. 

Livingston County

In this Finger Lakes county, which comprises 640 square miles of land and includes the campus of the State University College at Geneseo, about 15% of arrests were for cannabis possession. Livingston County Sheriff Thomas Dougherty has been a vocal opponent of marijuana legalization, citing significant concerns with public safety.

"We are in opposition of marijuana," Dougherty said on behalf of the state Sheriffs and Police Chief's associations during a press event in February. "We understand that drugs exist and when controlled by a doctor or in a controlled environment, they are useful, but making a recreational drug legal is dangerous for highway safety — and that is the message today."

Scoharie County

This peripheral Capital District county has a population of about 32,750 people. In 2016, about 15% of 775 arrests made there were for marijuana possession. 

MCDERMOT@Gannett.com