Marijuana Arrests Keep Drug Enforcers in Business
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
More than half of all drug-related arrests in the U.S. last year involved marijuana, prompting advocates for the legalization of the controlled substance to complain that the war on drugs is largely driven by “minor” offenses.
Law enforcement made more than 850,000 arrests in 2010 that had to do with marijuana, according to Federal Bureau of Investigation statistics. This total accounted for 52% of all drug arrests, and 46% of all drug arrests were for offenses related to marijuana possession.
Of those charged with marijuana crimes, 750,591 (88%) were for possession.
“Today, as in past years, the so-called ‘drug war’ remains fueled by the arrests of minor marijuana possession offenders, a disproportionate percentage of whom are ethnic minorities,” said Paul Armentano, deputy director for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML). “It makes no sense to continue to waste law enforcements’ time and taxpayers’ dollars to arrest and prosecute Americans for their use of a substance that poses far fewer health risks than alcohol or tobacco.”
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Marijuana Arrests Driving America’s So-Called ‘Drug War,’ Latest FBI Data Shows (by Paul Armentano, NORML)
Marijuana Arrests in California Target Blacks and Latino (by Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov)
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