A New Record for U.S. Marijuana Arrests
Until that day when the burden of our brutal war on marijuana becomes too great to deny, when the costs can’t be written off anymore and even the proud drug soldiers begin to lose interest in this disgraceful crusade…until that day, make damn sure you know what to do when they come for you:
"when the costs can’t be written off anymore"?
Actually, these arrests are skyrocketing because there are very few costs associated with marijuana law enforcement. Approx. 90% arrests are for the lowest level possession offenses and these people are usually out of jail the same day they went in. Furthermore, nearly all these arrests are carried out in public, not in the privacy of a user's home, and the DEA estimates 40 percent of all drug arrests are from traffic stops (I'm sure the figure is significantly higher for marijuana arrests). Out of 25 million people who use marijuana each year, only 3.5% will get arrested and 3.5 out of a 1000 users will face more than a day in jail.
Police only do these arrests to fluff up their record of productivity for budget increase requests while also building up their criminal record database of potential suspects.
But none of this serves to deter people from using marijuana in the privacy of your own home.
Are you defending marijuana prohibition?
"Actually, these arrests are skyrocketing because there are very few costs associated with marijuana law enforcement."
If the reason marijuana enforcement is cheaper than other drug enforcement is because other drug users spend more time in jail, then let's stop sending those other drug users to jail. That would surely make arrests for other drugs skyrocket as well.
"Approx. 90% arrests are for the lowest level possession offenses and these people are usually out of jail the same day they went in"
Do we then spend money drug testing them to make sure they've stopped using? If we do, that probably costs a lot of money. Plus, many do spend more than a day in jail.
"Furthermore, nearly all these arrests are carried out in public, not in the privacy of a user's home, and the DEA estimates 40 percent of all drug arrests are from traffic stops (I'm sure the figure is significantly higher for marijuana arrests)."
So what's your point, that if people just don't transport the drug they won't get caught? Transporting the drug is necessary, pot isn't just going to spontaneously appear inside the privacy of people's own homes. And if they grow it, the penalties will be much larger.
"Out of 25 million people who use marijuana each year, only 3.5% will get arrested and 3.5 out of a 1000 users will face more than a day in jail."
So then that's 875,000 arrests and 87,500 people a year who face more than a day in jail for using marijuana.
Do you really think cops make less efforts against marijuana?
"Furthermore, nearly all these arrests are carried out in public, not in the privacy of a user's home, and the DEA estimates 40 percent of all drug arrests are from traffic stops (I'm sure the figure is significantly higher for marijuana arrests)."
Why would the figure be higher for marijuana arrests? Do you really think cops raid houses where there is suspicion of the presence of hard drugs more often than houses where there is suspicion of the presence of marijuana? I doubt it. I bet cops are much more afraid to raid a house where there is suspcicion of the presence of hard drugs.
What about if you add up all those little arrests?
Doing that over 800,000 times must cost a signigicant amount of money, and also a significant amount of time.
Either way, the war on marijuana will end eventually because people know it is not just.
When I read an article on
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