The number of federal cannabis inmates has fallen by 61% over the past five years

Recently, the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) reported that the percentage of people serving time in federal prisons for cannabis convictions fell by 61% between 2013 and 2018. The data was presented in an article published on July 13, titled “Sentencing Decisions for Persons in Federal Prison for Drug Offenses, 2013-2018.”

BJS Director Dr. Alexis Piquero explained that the decrease in the number of people with convictions related to cannabis in prison compared to other substances was the most notable decrease. “Although the number of people serving time in federal prisons for drug offenses has declined over this five-year period, they still make up a large proportion — nearly half — of inmates [Federal Bureau of Prisons] “BOP custody in 2018,” said Piquero. “At the same time, we saw disparities depending on the type of drug involved: more people were jailed for heroin and methamphetamines and fewer for marijuana and cocaine.”

During the same period, jail sentences for crack cocaine fell by 45%, for powder cocaine by 35% and for opioid inmates there was a 4% reduction. In contrast, use of heroin has increased by 13% and that of methamphetamine by 12%.

A large majority of those incarcerated in these prisons were convicted of human trafficking, much less property. In 2013, 94,065 people were in federal custody for drug trafficking, but only 548 for possession or “other drug-related offences.” In 2014, human trafficking cases decreased slightly to 92,378 and possession cases to 581 people, followed by 88,386 for human trafficking and 525 for possession in 2015.

However, the most significant change occurred in 2016. Human trafficking continued to decline, but the number of people in federal prisons dropped to just 150 people. In 2018, only 54 people remained in prison for possession, accounting for less than 0.1% of all prisoners.

The report also included a breakdown by gender, race, and ethnicity, broken down by drug offenses through the end of 2018. For cannabis, 19.3% of prisoners were White, 18.4% Black, 59.3% Hispanic, and 1.8% Asian/ Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander and 1.3% Native American/Alaska Native. Of these prisoners, 95.1% were male and 4.9% were female.

Between 2013 and 2018, a clear trend can be seen with the decline in cannabis incarceration and the increase in legalization in the US. However, due to a lack of data between 2018 and today, it will still be some time before more information can be released.

Data from other government agencies add to the overall picture. In March, the US Sentencing Commission (USSC) released federal data on drug trafficking for the year 2022. While the report showed that cases of cannabis fell, from 5,000 in 2013 to 806 in 2022, cases of other substances such as cocaine, fentanyl and methamphetamine have increased.

Back in October, after President Joe Biden announced he would be pardoning people with federal cannabis convictions, the USSC said 6,577 people could potentially be pardoned.

Finally, in March, the U.S. Department of Justice launched its own clemency request for individuals seeking clemency for low state cannabis convictions. “On October 6, 2022, the President announced a full, unconditional and categorical pardon for prior federal and DC offenses of simple possession of marijuana,” the U.S. Department of Justice wrote in its announcement. “The presidential pardon removes barriers to housing, employment and educational opportunities for thousands of people with these criminal records. President Biden directed the Justice Department to develop a process for individuals to receive their pardons.”

Individual states have also worked to pardon cannabis convictions over the past year. In November 2022, Oregon Gov. Kathy Brown issued nearly 5,000 pardons for minor cannabis convictions. California Governor Gavin Newsom pardoned 10 people, although only two were convicted in cannabis-related cases. By the turn of the year, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf had pardoned 2,500 people, 400 of whom had nonviolent cannabis convictions on their records.

Recently, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis announced that he would like a pardon for psychedelic convictions. “Anyone who has something on their criminal record that is now legal can have it wiped and will not deter them from future employment opportunities,” Polis said at the Psychedelic Science Conference in Denver.