Christopher Ingraham – The Washington Post:
In 2016 more people were arrested for marijuana possession than for all crimes the FBI classifies as violent, according to 2016 crime data released by the agency on Monday.
Marijuana possession arrests edged up slightly in 2016, a year in which voters in four states approved recreational marijuana initiatives and voters in three others approved medical marijuana measures.
What an immense waste of time, energy, money, and policing. Clearly, from results in four states’ voter initiatives, people want legal marijuana. Arguments against legalization, from it being a “gateway drug” (when statistics are adjusted to exclude youths) to increased criminal activity surrounding marijuana retailers have proven wrong. Marijuana is no more a threat to society than is alcohol, and alcohol products have enjoyed a renaissance of craft expression in recent decades. Let’s get on with it and legalize at the national level, then let the states and counties come to their own conclusions based on the will of the electorate.
#law #marijuana #legalization #crime #statistics
A Random Stroll 