Marijuana Arrests Hit New High In U.S.

The number of people in the United States being arrested for possession of marijuana hit an all time high in 2007 and has continued a trend that has been going on for the last several years. The new record number is 872,627 individuals. In 2006 the number was 829,627. In 2005 it was 786,545. At the current rates there is an American being arrested for marijuana possession every 38 seconds. Marijuana possession accounts for 44% of all drug arrests in the United States. A total of 8 million Americans have been arrested and charged with marijuana possession in the last decade in the U.S. The argument about whether to legalize marijuana possession or at the very least de-criminalize it has been going on for years. Some citizens and even some law enforcement officials have expressed the belief that their time, efforts and limited resources could be better spent going after the more hardcore drug offenders in their communities instead of chasing after people who smoke "Pot" when studies have indicated that those who do so overwhelmingly pose very little or no threat to the general public and are considered low risk to no risk offenders.