The overwhelming majority of those arrested were charged with low-level marijuana possession — not cultivation, trafficking, or sales.
Category: LAW ENFORCEMENT
NORML’s Deputy Director Paul Armentano called the Justice Department’s policy change “inappropriate and misguided. … Most Americans say that consuming cannabis should no longer be a crime; they certainly don’t want federal resources directed toward these misplaced priorities.”
“Marijuana-related prosecutions remain the primary driver of drug war enforcement in those states where cannabis remains criminalized, whereas, with few exceptions, marijuana-related arrests fall precipitously in jurisdictions that legalize and regulate the adult-use cannabis market.”
No one should go to jail simply for the responsible use of marijuana.
“While the total number of marijuana-related arrests have fallen nationwide in recent years, it is clear that marijuana-related prosecutions still remain a primary driver of drug war enforcement in the United States.”
DEA Seizes Over Five Million Cannabis Plants in 2024, Reports Nearly 6,000 Marijuana-Related Arrests
“Considerable time and resources still remain prioritized toward enforcing the failed policy of federal marijuana prohibition and prosecuting those who violate outdated and ineffective federal cannabis laws.”
“Although Congress has failed to amend federal cannabis laws to explicitly recognize state-legal cannabis markets, the attitudes and priorities of federal law enforcement agents and prosecutors have clearly shifted in a manner that reflects their reality. Now it’s time for Congress to do so by repealing the failed policy of federal marijuana prohibition.”
“At a time when voters and their elected officials nationwide are re-evaluating state and federal marijuana policies, it is inconceivable that government agencies are unwilling to provide data on the estimated costs and scope of federal marijuana prohibition in America.”