Federal arrests for marijuana have declined as more states legalize it
Of
The US Department of Justice reported that federal marijuana arrests continue to decline as more states legalize cannabis.
Cannabis breaks have declined an average of 11% each year since 2010, when the DEA made 8,215 arrests, Marijuana Moment reported.
Photo by Kindel Media via Pexels
According to Bureau of Justice statistics, several factors led to a drop in arrests, including the coronavirus pandemic, which resulted in an “81 percent drop in arrests and a 77 percent drop in indicted cases from March to April 2020.”
Additionally, the US Federal Sentencing Commission (USCC), a nonpartisan, independent agency based in the Department of Justice, released a report in March finding federal prosecutions for marijuana in 2021 and fewer than 1,000 people cases were charged with cannabis trafficking.
Marijuana reforms reduce racial injustice
A study published by the American Medical Association in November 2021 found that states with legalized or decriminalized cannabis saw sharp declines in race-based adult arrests.
RELATED: Drug incarceration rates are falling, but police continue to make arrests
Researchers from Eastern Virginia Medical School and Saint Louis University analyzed data from 43 states and identified a specific pattern that suggests that repealing or relaxing marijuana-related laws is associated with a significant decrease in arrest rates compared to states in where cannabis remains illegal.
This article originally appeared on Benzinga and has been republished with permission.
Post a comment: