In 2006, a Marijuana user was jailed every 38 seconds

[Ardentfrost]

Marijuana Arrests For Year 2006 – 829,625 Tops Record High...Nearly 6 Percent Increase Over 2005 - NORML

Marijuana Arrests For Year 2006 – 829,625 Tops Record High...Nearly 6 Percent Increase Over 2005

September 24, 2007 - Washington, DC, USA

Washington, DC: Police arrested a record 829,625 persons for marijuana violations in 2006, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's annual Uniform Crime Report, released today. This is the largest total number of annual arrests for pot ever recorded by the FBI. Marijuana arrests now comprise nearly 44 percent of all drug arrests in the United States.

"These numbers belie the myth that police do not target and arrest minor marijuana offenders," said NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre, who noted that at current rates, a marijuana smoker is arrested every 38 seconds in America. "This effort is a tremendous waste of criminal justice resources that diverts law enforcement personnel away from focusing on serious and violent crime, including the war on terrorism."

Of those charged with marijuana violations, approximately 89 percent, 738,915 Americans were charged with possession only. The remaining 90,710 individuals were charged with "sale/manufacture," a category that includes all cultivation offenses, even those where the marijuana was being grown for personal or medical use. In past years, roughly 30 percent of those arrested were age 19 or younger.

"Present policies have done little if anything to decrease marijuana's availability or dissuade youth from trying it," St. Pierre said, noting young people in the U.S. now frequently report that they have easier access to pot than alcohol or tobacco.

“Two other major points standout from today’s record marijuana arrests: Overall, there has been a dramatic 188 percent increase in marijuana arrests in the last 15 years -- yet the public's access to pot remains largely unfettered and the self-reported use of cannabis remains largely unchanged. Second, America’s Midwest is decidedly the hotbed for marijuana-related arrests with 57 percent of all marijuana-related arrests. The region of America with the least amount of marijuana-related arrests is the West with 30 percent. This latter result is arguably a testament to the passage of various state and local decriminalization efforts over the past several years.”

The total number of marijuana arrests in the U.S. for 2006 far exceeded the total number of arrests in the U.S. for all violent crimes combined, including murder, manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault.

Annual marijuana arrests have nearly tripled since the early 1990s.

"Arresting hundreds of thousands of Americans who smoke marijuana responsibly needlessly destroys the lives of otherwise law abiding citizens," St. Pierre said, adding that over 8 million Americans have been arrested on marijuana charges in the past ten years. During this same time, arrests for cocaine and heroin have declined sharply, implying that increased enforcement of marijuana laws is being achieved at the expense of enforcing laws against the possession and trafficking of more dangerous drugs.

St. Pierre concluded: "Enforcing marijuana prohibition costs taxpayers between $10 billion and $12 billion annually and has led to the arrest of nearly 20 million Americans. Nevertheless, some 94 million Americans acknowledge having used marijuana during their lives. It makes no sense to continue to treat nearly half of all Americans as criminals for their use of a substance that poses no greater - and arguably far fewer - health risks than alcohol or tobacco. A better and more sensible solution would be to tax and regulate cannabis in a manner similar to alcohol and tobacco."

YEAR MARIJUANA ARRESTS
2006 829,625
2005 786,545
2004 771,608
2003 755,187
2002 697,082
2001 723,627
2000 734,498
1999 704,812
1998 682,885
1997 695,200
1996 641,642
1995 588,963
1994 499,122
1993 380,689
1992 342,314
1991 287,850
1990 326,850

This is crazy.

I wonder why our prisons are over-crowded

[RMNIXON]

I think it should be legal!

Don't tell the Whitehouse!

[SoFlaJDM]

we should be at a million soon



we need to get our priorities straight

[Donkey®]

This doesn't say what ADDITIONAL charges these people were charged with (if any) other than the drug charges. Someone can be charged with murder as well as possession of marijuana. So....seems the data is being used a little less than objectively.

[Ardentfrost]

Originally Posted by Donkey®

This doesn't say what ADDITIONAL charges these people were charged with (if any) other than the drug charges. Someone can be charged with murder as well as possession of marijuana. So....seems the data is being used a little less than objectively.

Doesn't matter There are still plenty of people who get arrested for no better reason (esp since 1 is too many)

[motivez]

When you criminalize drugs like they are you also invite those people to get involved with other criminal endeavors..

[Donkey®]

Originally Posted by Ardentfrost

Doesn't matter There are still plenty of people who get arrested for no better reason (esp since 1 is too many)

Well, it does matter if all this data you're touting is worthless.

[thomez]

Great article in the latest Foreign Policy magazine on legalization - I was both shocked and absolutely thrilled that they would run this as the cover story.

Foreign Policy: Think Again: Drugs

[Ardentfrost]

Originally Posted by Donkey®

Well, it does matter if all this data you're touting is worthless.

The marijuana charge, despite the others, is stupid. We're talking about no matter what else they did, they get more jail time, thus clogging up the prison system further for no reason.

[Ardentfrost]

Originally Posted by thomez

Great article in the latest Foreign Policy magazine on legalization - I was both shocked and absolutely thrilled that they would run this as the cover story.

Foreign Policy: Think Again: Drugs

Wow, nice.

[Scrum]

Originally Posted by thomez

Great article in the latest Foreign Policy magazine on legalization - I was both shocked and absolutely thrilled that they would run this as the cover story.

Foreign Policy: Think Again: Drugs

Nice link.


The war on drugs is such a joke. Let people ingest/inject/smoke whatever they want.

[Stylerod]

I wouldn't mind if it was legal, but until then, don't do it if you don't want to get punished for it.

[Diesel66]

Originally Posted by Donkey®

Well, it does matter if all this data you're touting is worthless.

Big difference between some random person ONLY getting busted for a little weed and someone getting arrested for multiple crimes and he also happened to have a joint on him.

[Donkey®]

Originally Posted by Diesel66

Big difference between some random person ONLY getting busted for a little weed and someone getting arrested for multiple crimes and he also happened to have a joint on him.

Um, that was my point? The data doesn't segregate the two.

[Ardentfrost]

It doesn't need to. The added charge warrants added punishment. The added punishment is what costs us money needlessly.

[Donkey®]

Originally Posted by Ardentfrost

It doesn't need to. The added charge warrants added punishment. The added punishment is what costs us money needlessly.

There's no proof there was ADDED punishment.

[Ardentfrost]

Originally Posted by Donkey®

There's no proof there was ADDED punishment.

You're the one that suggested there were other charges. I don't disagree that could have been the case. But regardless, the judicial system works by taking all the charges against you and combining the punishments (unless, of course, the word "concurrent" is used by your lawyer, but that usually only happens in higher crimes).

Anyhow, let's take my state of Georgia, where possession of more than an ounce of marijuana is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Most people don't have that much at one time, right? Well, guess what, you can STILL get the 10 years for less than an ounce if you so much as share your joint with a friend. But then even if you don't do that and never have more than an ounce, get caught twice and it's mandatory 1 year in prison. But that's only if you're not within 1000 feet of a school, then you get 20 years! And if you use a "communication device" you get an additional 1 - 4 years tacked on to the end of your sentence (I don't know how a law that vague can get passed... communication device? good lord).

So, let me really paint a picture here. While in the state of Georgia, let's say you assault a teacher you don't like at a high school with a deadly weapon (you smack her over the head with a pipe). Upon your arrest, you're found with an ounce of marijuana in your possession. You will then serve 26 years in prison: 6 for the assault, and 20 for the marijuana. Tell me how that works? The crime with a victim gets you less than a third of the punishment the marijuana gets you?

Or, similar situation a little different, if you're walking by a school doing nothing else and somehow get caught with an ounce of marijuana, some other guy could smack the teacher in the head, go to jail for it, get out, and do it again 3 times and you'd still be in jail for the marijuana.

You can't tell me there's not a problem with this.

PS. Oops, I made a mistake, if you're walking within 1000 feet of a school, you don't need an ounce to get the 20 years.

[Diesel66]

Originally Posted by Donkey®

Um, that was my point? The data doesn't segregate the two.

oops, forgot the . before my statement. Was agreeing with you.

[Donkey®]

Originally Posted by Ardentfrost

You're the one that suggested there were other charges. I don't disagree that could have been the case. But regardless, the judicial system works by taking all the charges against you and combining the punishments (unless, of course, the word "concurrent" is used by your lawyer, but that usually only happens in higher crimes).

Anyhow, let's take my state of Georgia, where possession of more than an ounce of marijuana is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Most people don't have that much at one time, right? Well, guess what, you can STILL get the 10 years for less than an ounce if you so much as share your joint with a friend. But then even if you don't do that and never have more than an ounce, get caught twice and it's mandatory 1 year in prison. But that's only if you're not within 1000 feet of a school, then you get 20 years! And if you use a "communication device" you get an additional 1 - 4 years tacked on to the end of your sentence (I don't know how a law that vague can get passed... communication device? good lord).

So, let me really paint a picture here. While in the state of Georgia, let's say you assault a teacher you don't like at a high school with a deadly weapon (you smack her over the head with a pipe). Upon your arrest, you're found with an ounce of marijuana in your possession. You will then serve 26 years in prison: 6 for the assault, and 20 for the marijuana. Tell me how that works? The crime with a victim gets you less than a third of the punishment the marijuana gets you?

Or, similar situation a little different, if you're walking by a school doing nothing else and somehow get caught with an ounce of marijuana, some other guy could smack the teacher in the head, go to jail for it, get out, and do it again 3 times and you'd still be in jail for the marijuana.

You can't tell me there's not a problem with this.

PS. Oops, I made a mistake, if you're walking within 1000 feet of a school, you don't need an ounce to get the 20 years.

I have big issues with the drug war...so I agree with you most of the laws shouldn't even exist...but that doesn't mean the data you presented can be taken at face value. That's all I am saying. It looks at a fact and ignores any mitigating circumstances surrounding the fact. It's as misleading as the anti-drug articles, websites, ads, etc.