Each minute, at a surprisingly high rate, someone
gets arrested for marijuana possession in the U.S., according to new FBI
figures.
According to
the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), some 620,000 people were
arrested for marijuana possession in the U.S. during 2014. This equates
to 1,700 people per day, which works out as just over one person per
minute.
The figure also means that arrests in relation to marijuana account for
almost 6 percent of all police arrests made in the U.S. This is up from
1.8 percent of the total in 1992.
What is of interest with the approximate 620,000 figure is that in two
states — Washington state and Colorado — marijuana possession is no longer illegal
(at state level), so there is no data of significance submitted from
these regions.
Thus the rate of arrests in states where possession
remains illegal within the state has steadily climbed upwards.
According to the Washington Post,
the FBI figure is likely to be woefully inaccurate with the real arrest
rate much higher.
The reason for this is because several states either
do not provide data to the FBI or the because the data that they do
provide is often missing police cautions.
The Post quotes from advocates of marijuana use who are critical over
the level of arrests, such as Marijuana Majority, who claim that the
police are no acting against the majority of public opinion.
Another
pro-legalization group, the American Civil Liberties Union states that
the typical marijuana arrest costs about $750. This means the total cost
for the U.S. extends to around half a billion dollars.
In related news, Digital Journal has posed the question
about whether a safety standard for marijuana is needed. With the use
of medical marijuana becoming more common, in light of legislation
enacted by a number of U.S. states, several health professionals are
questioning whether cannabis requires a microbiological safety standard.
This is due to the very real risk of fungal infection.
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