Despite Medical Marijuana Laws, Pot Arrests Soar

Even as a number of states have enacted laws allowing the medical use of marijuana, arrests for marijuana-related offenses are on the rise, according to the FBI's annual Uniform Crime Report.

The report, released this week, shows police made 853,838 marijuana arrests in 2010. The annual arrest total is among the highest ever reported by the agency and is nearly identical to the total number of cannabis-related arrests reported in 2009

According to the report, marijuana arrests now comprise more than one-half - 52 percent - of all drug arrests in the United States. An estimated 46 percent of all drug arrests are for offenses related to marijuana possession.

Most frequently mentioned words in a survey of 2.9 million mentions

Consumer attitudes about marijuana are still highly conflicted but have been trending positively over the last year, according to a ConsumerAffairs.com analysis of more than 2.9 million comments in Facebook, Twitter and other social media and blogs. 

Blue line shows net sentiment

'Minor possession offenders'

"Today, as in past years, the so-called 'drug war' remains fueled by the arrests of minor marijuana possession offenders, a disproportionate percentage of whom are ethnic minorities," National Organization for Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) Deputy Director Paul Armentano said. "It makes no sense to continue to waste law enforcements' time and taxpayers' dollars to arrest and prosecute responsible Americans for their use of a substance that poses far fewer health risks than alcohol or tobacco."

Of those charged with marijuana law violations, 750,591 (88 percent) were arrested for marijuana offenses involving possession only. The remaining 103,247 individuals were charged with "sale/manufacture," a category that includes virtually all cultivation offenses.

The increasing marijuana arrests come in spite of state laws allowing patients to use marijuana with a doctor's prescription. But at least one such state, Michigan, is re-evaluating that law amid officials' charges that it is being abused.

Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette is leading a crackdown on what he says are violations of the state's medical marijuana law. Most recently, Schuette charged a Lansing marijuana dispensary owner with violating Michigan election law for allegedly offering free marijuana to citizens who registered to vote as an inducement to influence their manner of voting.

Recreational use

Schuette has charged the medical marijuana law is being used to sell pot for recreational use and has proposed legislation to close what he says are loopholes in the law.

Whatever their feelings about marijuana, consumers remain wary of the substance because of its illegality.  In an analysis of 15,900 consumer comments about mairjuana's attributes, its illegality was by far the most frequently cited.

While medical marijuana laws seem to suggest states are taking a more lenient approach to the drug, the FBI statistics suggest police continue to vigorously enforce drug laws.

By region, the percentage of marijuana arrests was highest in the Midwest (63.5 percent of all drug arrests) and southern regions (57 percent of all drug arrests) of the United States and lowest in the west, where pot prosecutions comprised only 39 percent of total drug arrests.

By contrast, NORMAL points out that, where marijuana arrests were the highest, arrests for heroin and cocaine were lowest.

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