Posted on 10/14/2016 4:25:58 PM PDT by BBell
On any given day in the United States, at least 137,000 people sit behind bars on simple drug-possession charges, according to a report released Wednesday by the American Civil Liberties Union and Human Rights Watch.
Nearly two-thirds of them are in local jails. The report says that most of these jailed inmates have not been convicted of any crime: They're sitting in a cell, awaiting a day in court, an appearance that may be months or even years off, because they can't afford to post bail.
"It's been 45 years since the war on drugs was declared, and it hasn't been a success," lead author Tess Borden of Human Rights Watch said in an interview. "Rates of drug use are not down. Drug dependency has not stopped. Every 25 seconds, we're arresting someone for drug use."
Federal figures on drug arrests and drug use over the past three decades tell the story. Drug-possession arrests skyrocketed, from fewer than 200 arrests for every 100,000 people in 1979 to more than 500 in the mid-2000s. The drug-possession rate has since fallen slightly, according to the FBI, hovering near 400 arrests per 100,000 people.
Defenders of harsh penalties for drug possession say they are necessary to deter people from using drugs and to protect public health. But despite the tough-on-crime push that led to the surge in arrests in recent decades, illicit drug use today is more common among Americans age 12 and older than it was in the early 1980s. Federal figures show no correlation between drug-possession arrests and rates of drug use during that time.
But the ACLU and Human Rights Watch report shows that arrests for drug possession continue to make up a significant chunk of modern-day police work.
"Around the country, police make more arrests for drug possession than for
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Has anyone noticed that several of the latest mass shootings have been tied to excessive marijuana use, including the terrorist attack at the Cascade mall in WA, the Ferguson shootings and the Trayvon Martin shooting.
Two of those it was the victim who was smoking and the Cascade Mall shooter blamed the heavy marijuana use for his bad behavior.
you mean we have "millions" in jail for drug use.....wow....love to see the official stats on that...
At least you know your leader
I agree.
gee, I guess you haven't noticed the epidemic of legally prescribed drug addiction and the subsequent upswing in heroin users because they can't get their hydro/oxys so easy thru their docs...
I guess you haven't read about the heroin overdoses....
yep....the peoples are responsible, except when they're not...
Washington Post, ACLU, Human Rights Watch, Soros
Blind squirrels, acorns.
At least you know how to arrantly lie.
This is the worst of both worlds, where the Feds — and not the doctors — typically have been putting the lids on maintenance medications.
My experiences around stoners is the last thing they want to do is go out and shoot someone. Too much effort.
MJ slows peeps down. Makes them easier to catch than peeps on speed or PCP, etc.
The lamest argument of all — “guilt by association.” But again you have been neck deep in that since you stuck up for the pigs in Waco, haven’t you.
$80 million
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/apr/2/billionaire-george-soros-turns-cash-into-legalized/
Repeating a lame argument does not make it any less lame.
You lack of denial is telling ...
Yes, I have a lack of denial. You, on the other hand, have copious amounts of it.
Mr. Soros makes his donations through the Drug Policy Alliance, a nonprofit he funds with roughly $4 million in annual contributions from his Foundation to Promote an Open Society.
And here I thought plants that were natural were supposed to be beneficial.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.