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IPFS News Link • Drug War

U.S. police arrest more people for possession of marijuana than for all violent crimes combined

• Natural News

(NaturalNews) The war on drugs has continued for nearly half a century in the United States, despite the indisputable fact that it has been a complete and utter failure.

A recent report by the American Civil Liberties Union and Human Rights Watch explored in depth the cost in human lives and wasted resources associated with U.S. drug policies and enforcement practices – and it's not a pretty picture.

At any given time, 137,000 men and women sit behind bars on charges of simple drug possession, most of them awaiting trial in jail because they can't afford bail.

From the report:

"Around the country, police make more arrests for drug possession than for any other crime. More than one of every nine arrests by state law enforcement is for drug possession, amounting to more than 1.25 million arrests each year. And despite officials' claims that drug laws are meant to curb drug sales, four times as many people are arrested for possessing drugs as are arrested for selling them."

Many of those arrested were charged with possession of marijuana – a plant that continues to be classified as a Schedule I drug on a par with heroin and meth. Despite the fact that half of U.S. states now allow the use of medicinal marijuana, and that the vast majority of Americans favor legalization, the incarceration of marijuana users has not ceased.
 

The human cost of the war on drugs

In fact, there are more arrests for marijuana possession alone than for all violent crimes combined. This is costing taxpayers billions of dollars and creating a criminal class out of ordinary citizens.

Drug possession enforcement in general places an enormous burden on our society, trapping people in a legal system that doesn't solve anything, but instead destroys lives:

"Each day, tens of thousands more are convicted, cycle through jails and prisons, and spend extended periods on probation and parole, often burdened with crippling debt from court-imposed fines and fees. ...