Monday, September 14, 2009

Marijuana Arrests Drop For First Time Since 2002

Drug War protester at Huntington Beach, Calif.
Photo: The November Coalition

By Steve Elliott in Chronic City


​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.

Read the rest at Chronic City in the SF Weekly blog, "The Snitch": Chronic City: Marijuana Arrests Drop For First Time Since 2002 | Digg story

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