Via NORML…

Marijuana Arrests For Year 2006 š 829,625 Tops Record High…Nearly 15
Percent Increase Over 2005
September 24, 2007 – Washington, DC, USA
Washington, DC: Police arrested a record 829,625 persons for marijuana
violations in 2006, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s
annual Uniform Crime Report, released today. This is the largest total
number of annual arrests for pot ever recorded by the FBI. Marijuana arrests
now comprise nearly 44 percent of all drug arrests in the United States.
“These numbers belie the myth that police do not target and arrest minor
marijuana offenders,” said NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre, who
noted that at current rates, a marijuana smoker is arrested every 38 seconds
in America. “This effort is a tremendous waste of criminal justice resources
that diverts law enforcement personnel away from focusing on serious and
violent crime, including the war on terrorism.”
Of those charged with marijuana violations, approximately 89 percent some
738,915 Americans were charged with possession only. The remaining 90,710
individuals were charged with “sale/manufacture,” a category that includes
all cultivation offenses even those where the marijuana was being grown for
personal or medical use. In past years, roughly 30 percent of those arrested
were age 19 or younger.

YEAR
MARIJUANA ARRESTS

2006
829,625

2005
786,545

2004
771,608

2003
755,187

2002
697,082

2001
723,627

2000
734,498

1999
704,812

1998
682,885

1997
695,200

1996
641,642

1995
588,963

1994
499,122

1993
380,689

1992
342,314

1991
287,850

1990
326,850