The FBI crime statistics for 2012 are out, and once again, they demonstrate the massive amount of law enforcement resources we devote to preventing people from getting high. And from pot in particular.
Of all drug arrests, 82.2 percent were for possession — meaning possession arrests outnumbered distribution arrests by about 4.5 to 1. For pot alone the disparity was even greater — 88 percent of marijuana arrests were for possession.
Arrests for pot were actually slightly down from 2011, but still made up a strong plurality of 42.2 percent of all drug possession arrests. Heroin and cocaine combined accounted for 16.5 percent.
Finally, as the folks at Law Enforcement Against Prohibition point out in a press release today, more people were arrested for marijuana offenses alone last year than for all violent crimes combined.
Pot, Drug Possession Dominate New Arrest Statistics
Article by Radley Balko for The Huffington Post