(MintPress)—As the nation struggles with growing pains in its evolution toward marijuana-friendly laws, statistics released by the FBI in 2011 reveal that marijuana arrests exceeded violent crime arrests by more than 100,000.
Aside from surpassing violent crime, marijuana-related arrests also ate up a large portion of total drug-related arrests in 2011, with nearly 50 percent relating to marijuana. Of those, roughly 43 percent were simply for possession.
Eighteen states have now legalized medicinal marijuana, moving closer to recreational legalization approved by voters this November in Colorado and Washington. Yet, despite the growing attitude of support throughout the nation, marijuana-related arrests are growing by the year.
In 1995, marijuana arrests accounted for just 40 percent of all drug-related incidents, representing a jump of nearly 10 percent in just six years. According to a report by the Huffington Post, marijuana arrests have doubled since 1980.
The issue has been in the spotlight, specifically in New York, where controversial stop-and-frisk practices have led to an increase in petty marijuana possession charges. In 2011, the New York Police Department (NYPD) arrested 50,680 New Yorkers for marijuana-related incidents. Marijuana possession is now the No. 1 reason for arrest in New York City, according to the Drug Policy Alliance.
In his 2013 State of the State speech, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo addressed the issue, calling on the need for a reformed system that focuses more on violent crime than marijuana possession.
“The legislature finds that arrests, criminal prosecutions and criminal penalties are inappropriate for people who possess small quantities of marijuana for personal use. Every year, this process needlessly scars thousands of lives and wastes millions of dollars in law enforcement resources, while detracting from the prosecution of serious crime,” Cuomo said.
While New York has not legalized marijuana for recreational use, a majority of Americans believe states that have legalized marijuana are in the right direction. According to a YouGov poll, 51 percent of respondents said the federal government should allow Washington and Colorado to enforce their recreational use rule without federal involvement.
For the 18 states that have legalized medicinal marijuana, 58 percent of respondents say the federal government should allow patients and dispensaries to be protected from federal enforcement.