Is the ‘War on Drugs’ over? Arrest statistics say No
Arrests for marijuana possession are most common, even as public opinion has shifted in favor of its legalization
The New York Times (US)
Tuesday, November 5, 2019
Tuesday, November 5, 2019
Despite bipartisan calls to treat drug addiction as a public health issue rather than as a crime — and despite the legalization of marijuana in more states — arrests for drugs increased again last year. According to estimated crime statistics released by the F.B.I. in September, there were 1,654,282 arrests for drugs in 2018, a number that has increased every year since 2015, after declining over the previous decade. Meanwhile, arrests for violent crime and property crime have continued to trend downward. Drugs have been the top reason people have been arrested in the United States for at least the past 10 years, and marijuana has been the top drug involved in those arrests.
