Nationwide cases of marijuana are falling again in 2021 as more states legalize

By Jelena Martinovic

Federal marijuana cases fell to fewer than 1,000 in 2021, with 996 people charged with human trafficking, NORML reported.

They accounted for less than 6% of people charged with violating federal drug laws last year, according to an analysis by the Federal US Sentencing Commission (USCC).

Photo by gesrey/Getty Images

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On the other hand, methamphetamine was the most common narcotics implicated in federal drug cases at 48%, followed by powder cocaine and heroin.

And it seems the trend is gaining momentum as more states legalize marijuana and federal officials seem less concerned about prosecuting people for cannabis.

In 2012, cannabis topped the list with more than 7,000 reported marijuana cases at the federal level. In 2020, the USCC documented just 1,118 cannabis cases after their number fell by more than a quarter in 2019.

“Despite the failure of Congress to change state cannabis laws, the attitudes and priorities of federal prosecutors have clearly changed in the age of state-level marijuana legalization,” said Paul Armentano, associate director of NORML. “Now is the time for federal lawmakers to codify these changes in priorities by repealing marijuana.”

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Morgan Fox, NORML policy director, emphasized that “America’s outdated federal laws still have a significant and unnecessary impact on people’s lives.

“We are calling on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to immediately hold a vote on the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expunge Act, and sincerely hope that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer will support his proposed introduction of the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity.” act in April,” Fox said.

This article originally appeared on Benzinga and has been republished with permission.

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