More people were arrested last year over pot than for murder, rape, aggravated assault and robbery — combined

Many public health experts have called for illicit drug use to be decriminalized in the United States
The Washington Post (US)
Tuesday, September 26, 2017

In 2016 more people were arrested for marijuana possession than for all crimes the FBI classifies as violent, according to 2016 crime data. 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. Marijuana possession remains one of the single largest arrest categories in the United States, accounting for over 5 percent of all arrests last year. More than one in 20 arrests involved a marijuana possession charge, amounting to more than one marijuana possession arrest every minute.