DRUG BUSTS

45,000 CITIZENS IN PRISON FOR USING DRUG WEAKER THAN CIGARETTES OR VODKA

NORML - Nearly one in eight drug prisoners in America are behind bars
for marijuana-related offenses, according to data released by the US
Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics. The BJS study
reports that 12.7 percent of state inmates and 12.4 percent of federal
inmates incarcerated for drug violations are serving time for marijuana
offenses. There are now approximately 33,655 state inmates and 10,785
federal inmates incarcerated for marijuana offenses.

The BJS report did not provide specific data on what percentage of US
prisoners were serving times for marijuana possession crimes versus
marijuana cultivation and/or trafficking. The BJS failed to include
estimates on the percentage of inmates incarcerated in county jails for
cannabis-related offenses.

A previous BJS report based on 1997 data indicated that in 1999
approximately 39,000 US prisoners were serving time for pot violations.
A 2005 study by the Sentencing Project think-tank in Washington, DC
suggested that approximately 68,500 Americans are either incarcerated or
on probation for marijuana-related offenses.

According to data compiled by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation and
released in September, nearly 787,000 Americans were arrested for
violating marijuana laws in 2005, the highest annual total ever
recorded. Among those arrested, approximately 88 percent -- ­some
696,074 - Americans ­ were charged with marijuana possession only.

Norml.org

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