U.S. Marijuana Arrests Drop For First Time Since 2002
Steve Elliott, SF Weekly: Marijuana arrests in the United States declined in 2008 — the first such drop since 2002 — according to figures released by the FBI today.
According to the just-released Uniform Crime Reports, U.S. law enforcement made 847,863 arrests on marijuana charges, 89 percent of which were for simple possession, not sale or manufacture. More Americans were arrested for marijuana possession than for all violent crimes combined. During 2008, one American was arrested for marijuana every 37 seconds.
Marijuana arrests reached an all-time high at more than 872,000 in 2007. More than 12 million American citizens have been arrested on marijuana charges since 1965.
The new report comes on the heels of the 2008 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, released Sept. 10, which showed increases in both the number and the percentage of Americans who admit having used marijuana.
