The Strange Career of the Transnational Legal Order of Cannabis Prohibition

Abstract

This report is the first to examine marijuana possession arrest rates by race for all 50 states (and the District of Columbia) and their respective counties from 2001 to 2010. The report relies on the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Reporting Program and the United States Census' annual county population estimates to document arrest rates by race per 100,000 for marijuana possession.The report finds that between 2001 and 2010, there were over 8 million marijuana arrests in the United States, 88% of which were for possession. Marijuana arrests have increased between 2001 and 2010 and now account for over half (52%) of all drug arrests in the United States, and marijuana possession arrests account for nearly half (46%) of all drug arrests. In 2010, there was one marijuana arrest every 37 seconds, and states spent combined over $3.6 billion enforcing marijuana possession laws.

The symbiotic tensions of the regulatory–carceral state: The case of cannabis legalization

“…These changes paved the way for more radical reforms, including the legalization of the recreational use of cannabis in 15 states and in the District of Columbia. The diffusion of cannabis legalization has gained momentum despite the fact that cannabis continues to be classified as an illegal drug with no valid medical uses under federal law (Mikos 2009) and notwithstanding criticism from key regulatory international actors (Aaronson 2020).…”