PLEASE SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND EXPOSE HOW THE NEWS MAY BE LOBBYING AMERICA.
According to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program report, titled “2015 Crime in the United States,” there were 1,488,707 total arrests for “drug abuse.
According to a new crime report published last week by the FBI, the Drug War is still a pervasive cause for arrest in the United States. The data, which covers recorded arrests for violent crime and property crime as disclosed by local police departments, revealed that arrests for simple possession of drugs — mostly marijuana — are still widespread across the country.
According to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program report, titled “2015 Crime in the United States,” there were 1,488,707 total arrests for “drug abuse,” a category that includes the sale, trafficking, and possession of drugs.
Compared to arrests for other specific categories of offenses, drug violations were the most common. Of 10,797,088 total recorded arrests in the United States in 2015, drug abuse arrests were the highest (1,488,707), followed closely by property crimes, which accounted for 1,463,213 arrests. Drunk driving arrests came in third, with 1,089,171. By comparison, there were just 11,092 arrests for murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, though “other assaults” did account for 1,081,019 arrests, the fourth most common.
It is worth noting that, as the FBI explains, “arrest figures do not reflect the number of individuals who have been arrested; rather, the arrest data show the number of times that persons are arrested.”
Some proponents of the Drug War might rationalize nearly 1.5 million drug arrests as an effective effort to stop traffickers and drug dealers. But arrests for the sale or manufacture of drugs accounted for just 16.1% of all drug arrests, roughly 239,682.
Arrests for mere possession totaled 83.9% of drug-related offenses — 1,249,025.
Possession of marijuana accounted for 38.6% of all drug abuse arrests (574,641) while 19.9% were for heroin or cocaine and their derivatives (296,252). Possession of “other dangerous nonnarcotic drugs” prompted 20.2% of “drug abuse” arrests, and possession of synthetic or manufactured drugs made up for 5.1% of arrests.
Though, as the Washington Post points out, arrest rates for marijuana are the lowest they’ve been since 1996, there were over 1,500 arrests per day in 2015 — simply for possessing marijuana. In the Northeast, Midwest, and South, marijuana possession arrests were responsible for roughly 50% of all drug arrests (in the South, that figure was 50.7%). In the West, where many states have embraced cannabis use, arrests for possession of the plant accounted for just 16.5% of all drug arrests.
The effect of the drug war is evident not just in arrest figures, but in data documenting incarceration rates in the United States. According to the Bureau of Prisons, 46.4% of inmates (83,982) were behind bars for drug offenses, making up a substantial chunk of the population. To be fair, the Bureau of Justice has asserted almost all federal drug offenders were convicted of trafficking, and in state-level facilities, drug offenders made up roughly 17% of inmates.
Regardless, it remains that on a daily basis, hundreds – if not thousands — of Americans are harassed by law enforcement for simply possessing a plant (or another substance).
Further, it is unsurprising that, at least among prison populations, drug trafficking is a common offense. When drugs are prohibited, as alcohol prohibition proved in the 1920s, black markets undoubtedly develop, meaning ultimately, the government’s own tirade against drugs is at least, in part, responsible for the growth of the narcotics market and, as a result, traffickers.
More fundamental, however, is the question of whether or not the government should be allowed to regulate what substances nonviolent individuals choose to put in their bodies, and by extension, who sells them those substances. As some police officers opt to make cannabis a lower priority – and even to take a compassionate approach toward heroin addicts in the face of the nation’s pharmaceutical opioid crisis — the country’s overall crime data appears increasingly archaic.
TOCCALife.com (Ticker: TLIF) CEO Tyler Cornell asked, “Is the above article an editorial by a person addicted to drugs?” Noting statements, “Regardless, it remains that on a daily basis, hundreds – if not thousands – of Americans are HARASSED by law enforcement for simply possessing a plant (or another substance) and More fundamental, however, is the question of whether or not the government should be allowed to regulate what substances nonviolent individuals choose to put in their bodies, and by extension, who sells them those substances.”
Cornell stated, “Please consider some facts:
1. The Law is the Law. You should thank the Police, FBI and DEA for doing their jobs because apparently this article was spun to look like news with lobbyist messages intact. I’ve been noted for telling clients to take an extra 10 seconds to evaluate the repercussions of their next move so they don’t stand on a podium and hurt others. Further, your statement, “allowed to regulate what substances nonviolent individuals choose to put in their system….” These are great people with The Disease of Addiction. Most are NEVER Violent until they are violated by a non-violent persons they trust and are in need of medication or a MEETING. Most are smarter than many of us put together but their disappointment from righteous comments such as the statements in this story, made trying socially acceptable party experiments used to take a break from the “non-violent” crowd, as you explain, triggered their addiction. Yes, without help, they can become violent. They do so trying to self medicate from the discrimination imposed by things such as this story that looks like news but lobbies in a selfish hope. They do so because they have the disease called Addiction. That disease in so many cases I have seen, means they just want peace and to be able to forget the way the other 75% treat people while sleeping well at night.
2. Laws came into effect before the media did and they were put in place from past precedent that beats what was cited in the article about Prohibition. That is without mention to politicians seeking more tax payer revenue from various unscrupulous income streams initiated by lobbyist movements to keep their name safe. People, the most honest people I’ve ever met in this industry are contemplating quitting recover because they expect marijuana (THC) to be legal shortly and promise not to go back to opiate drugs. It doesn’t work that way but the media seems to think it does. That is our next generation.
3. 25% of America, Per HBO, is directly Affected by Drug Abuse, Death, Heart Ache, Family Divorce, Foster Children, Welfare, Crime, Auto Accidents, Gang Violence and the kids that I and others have had to watch over. Initiating prevention and accountability for those kids is of utmost importance instead of the idea of making more mind altering drugs legal to gain tax revenue to pay lobbyists while gaining votes from the other 75%. Especially if you don’t want to die in a car after having your car insurance premium raise to prices higher than your mortgage payment.
4. $650 Billion a Year in Tax Payer Money is directly attributed to the war on drugs because America keeps making it easier to get mind altering drugs such as Marijuana (THC)…. A gateway to, as the article puts it, “other substances” that cause more misery until it leads to rat poison in a kid’s arm because he is addicted and the dealer needs money because he is addicted. Have you lived this story or is it your need to get legal drugs?
5. Then when all hope is lost, they buy “Bath Salts” and other drugs in desperation. Some end up EATING PEOPLE LIKE A CANNIBAL IN A DELUSION.
6. The Doctors are having a hard time figuring out who should get pain killers, what gives you the right to lobby with the power of your distribution to the people more fortunate the 25% of America that is less fortunate, who may have kids our industry has had to help?
Thanks for playing. Contact me Directly if you want to Write a real story.
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