Date: Wed, 24 Oct 2001 13:36:51 -0400
To: Matthew Gaylor <freematt@coil.com>
From: Matthew Gaylor <freematt@coil.com>
Subject: 1.6 Million US Drug Arrests In 2000 Marijuana Violations Hit all
 Time High
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" ; format="flowed"

[Note from Matthew Gaylor:  Is it possible that while law enforcement 
chases down hippies smoking weed they're too tuckered out to chase 
real criminals like terrorists?]

From: "CCLE" <info@cognitiveliberty.org>
Subject: 1.6 Million Drug Arrests in 2000
Date: Mon, 22 Oct 2001 19:32:58 -0700
Organization: Center for Cognitive Liberty & Ethics

1.6 Million Drug Arrests Made in 2000

According to a report released Monday by the FBI, 1.6 million arrests were
made for drug offense violations in the year 2000, a slight increase (0.5
percent) over 1999 figures.

For the sixth straight year, more people were arrested for drug offenses
than for any other offense category. In fact, in the year 2000 more people
were arrested for drug offenses than for murder, rape, arson, aggravate
assault, robbery, burglary, and auto theft combined.

Read More at: <http://www.alchemind.org/topclnews.htm>

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
October 22, 2001

-Marijuana Violations for Year 2000 Hit All Time High, FBI Report Reveals-

Washington, DC: Police arrested an estimated 734,498 persons for
marijuana violations in 2000, according to Federal Bureau of
Investigation's annual Uniform Crime Report, released today.  The total
is the highest ever recorded by the FBI, and comprises just under half of
all drug arrests in the United States.

"Today's war on drugs is really little more than a war on marijuana
smokers," charges NORML Foundation Executive Director Allen St Pierre.
"Enforcing marijuana prohibition costs taxpayers approximately $10
billion per year.  This is a tremendous waste of national and state
criminal justice resources, which should be focused on combating serious
and violent crime, including terrorism."

Of those charged with marijuana violations, almost 88 percent - some
646,042 Americans - were charged with possession only.  The remaining
88,456 individuals were charged with "sale/manufacture," a category that
includes all cultivation offenses - even those where the marijuana was
being grown for personal or medical use.

The total number of marijuana arrests far exceeds the total number of
arrests for all violent crimes combined, including murder, manslaughter,
forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault.

Since 1990, nearly 5.9 million Americans have been arrested on marijuana
charges, a greater number than the entire populations of Alaska,
Delaware, the District of Columbia, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota,
Vermont and Wyoming combined.

"It's time we stopped arresting adults who use marijuana responsibly,"
says St. Pierre.

For more information, please contact either Allen St. Pierre or Paul
Armentano of The NORML Foundation at (202) 483-8751.  The report appears
online at: <http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/00cius.htm.>

-end-


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