A Bumper Crop of Marijuana Arrests

Jacob Sullum | October 17, 2005

According to FBI figures released today, a record number of people were arrested for marijuana offenses in the U.S. last year: 771,605, compared to the previous record of 755,186, set in 2003 (which surpassed the earlier peak of 735,500, reached in 2000). Marijuana accounted for more than two-fifths of the 1.7 million drug arrests. As usual, the vast majority of marijuana cases (89 percent) involved possession, as opposed to cultivation or trafficking.

[Thanks to the Marijuana Policy Project for the tip.]