"Marijuana Arrests Driving America’s So-Called ‘Drug War,’ Latest FBI Data Shows"

September 19th, 2011.   By Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director

Police made 853,838 arrests in 2010 for marijuana-related offenses, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s annual Uniform Crime Report, released today. The arrest total is among the highest ever reported by the agency and is nearly identical to the total number of cannabis-related arrests reported in 2009. According to the report, marijuana arrests now comprise more than one-half (52 percent) of all drug arrests in the United States. An estimated 46 percent of all drug arrests are for ... marijuana 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,” NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano said... “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.”

Of those charged with marijuana law violations, 750,591 (88 percent) were arrested for marijuana offenses involving possession only.... Overall, law enforcement agents nationwide arrested 1,638,846 people last year for drug abuse violations, surpassing arrests for all other crimes. Since 2000, law enforcement have reported making an estimated 7.9 million arrests for marijuana violations.

"In Past Two Years, More Americans Arrested For Pot Than All Other Drugs Combined"

by Russ Belville, Examiner.com  September 19, 2011

The 2010 FBI Uniform Crime Report has been released today and for the second year in a row, marijuana arrests make up a majority of all arrests in the "War on Drugs".... 63.5% of all drug arrests in the Midwest are for marijuana use (53.9%) and cultivation (9.6%).  The South also makes more arrests for marijuana possession

(51.5%) than any other drug charge.
                                                                                                                                                           

"One Drug Arrest Every 19 Seconds In The U.S."  by Neil Franklin,

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition

A new FBI report released today shows that there is a drug arrest every 19 seconds in the U.S. A group of police and judges who have been campaigning to legalize and regulate drugs pointed to the figures showing more than 1.6 million drug arrests in 2010 as evidence that the "war on drugs" is a failure that can never be won. Today's FBI report ... shows that 81.9 percent of all drug arrests in 2010 were for possession only, and 45.8 percent of all drug arrests were for possession of marijuana.

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) represents police, prosecutors, judges, FBI/DEA agents and others....  At http://www.CopsSayLegalizeDrugs.com

"Trying To Arrest Our Way To Victory" by Pete Guthier. DrugWarRant.com,  9/19/2011

One of the truly bizarre arguments that prohibitionists often use is that not that many people are in prison for drug possession (or marijuana possession).... It’s a lie. There are many people in prison for possession. But it’s also a lie because it pretends that federal prison is the only significant penalty for our enforcement-heavy drug policy. A “mere” drug arrest (as over 1.6 million people experience each year) for many can mean the loss of their job, their career, their pension, their savings, or their family.

"750,000 People Arrested for Simple Marijuana Possession. And For What?"  by Morgan Fox, Marijuana Policy Project, September 20, 2011

How do they justify the arrests of more than 853,000 people for marijuana-related violations in 2010? That’s one person arrested every 19 seconds.... A remarkably small number of people who may have distributed marijuana were arrested last year, along with three quarters of a million simple users.... There were more arrests for marijuana possession than for all violent crimes.  

"A Drug Arrest Every 19 Seconds, Says Latest US Data" by Phillip Smith, Drug War Chronicle.  September 20, 2011  http://stopthedrugwar.org

Drug arrests were the single largest category of arrests, accounting for more than 10% of all arrests in the country.... African-Americans continue to be arrested for drug offenses in disproportionate numbers. Blacks accounted for 31.8% of all drug arrests last year, while according to the US Census Bureau, they constitute only 12.6% of the national population.... "This shows that, contrary to what Obama and Kerlikowske say, the war on drugs is not over," said Bill Piper, national affairs director for the Drug Policy Alliance.... "Federal money absolutely subsidizes state and local drug arrests by funding programs like the Byrne Justice Assistance Grant program and the COPS program."

FBI Uniform Crime Arrest Data for 2010. in "Crime in The United States, 2010".  U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation. September 2011

Nationwide, law enforcement made an estimated 13,120,947 arrests (except traffic violations) in 2010.  Of these arrests, 552,077 were for violent crimes and 1,643,962 were for property crimes. The highest number of arrests were for drug abuse violations (estimated at 1,638,846 arrests), driving under the influence (estimated at 1,412,223), and larceny-theft (estimated at 1,271,410).