US Arrested Almost 750,000 Pot Consumers, Sellers and Growers in 2012 High Times
go to original September 17, 2013

The FBI Uniform Crime Report for 2012 is in. Once again, police arrested almost 750,000 marijuana consumers, sellers and growers, despite the passage of legalization in two states, decriminalization in 15 states, and medical marijuana in 20 states.

The data, analyzed by 420RADIO News, indicate that 749,825 people were arrested for marijuana within the category of "drug abuse violations" reported to the FBI. Of those, 658,231 were arrested for possession, making up about seven out of eight pot arrests in this country.

These numbers are virtually the same from 2011, when 757,969 reported marijuana arrests took place. Previously during the Obama Administration, there were 853,838 arrests in 2010 and 858,408 arrests in 2009.

Analysis shows that the great decline from 2010 to 2011 could be attributed largely to the decriminalization of marijuana possession in California under then-Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who caved to pressure applied by the political force of positive polls for the Prop 19 legalization campaign. Without those California declines, the arrest totals have remained steady during this administration. It will be interesting to note the numbers one year from now when decriminalization passed in Massachusetts and legalization passed in Washington and Colorado in 2012 will factor into the arrest totals for 2013.

Read the rest at High Times

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