According to the Pennsylvania Uniform Crime Reporting System there were 25, 635 adult arrests for marijuana prohibition related offenses in 2009. About 75% were for possession.
Sale and manufacturing accounted for 5,083 arrests and possession accounted for 20, 552.
Men were arrested more than women at a rate greater than 6 to 1.*
Whites were arrested more than African-Americans across the state. But the trend of a racial disparity to the arrests in Philadelphia continued.
Of the 10, 661 African-Americans arrested for marijuana violations in Pennsylvania statewide during 2009 about half were arrested by Philadelphia city police, a total of 5,158 people.
Overall, marijuana arrests accounted for 49% of the total arrests for all drug violations in Pennsylvania combined.
The PA UCR data is sent in annually to the FBI for inclusion into the national Uniform Crime Report that was released in late September.
PhillyNORML will release the group’s annual report on the city marijuana arrest data next week.
* 22,176 men vs 3,460 women
by Chris Goldstein, the Philadelphia NORML Examiner. Chris is on the Board of Directors at PhillyNORML. He may be contacted through media@phillynorml.org
>>Subscribe to the Philadelphia NORML Examiner – it’s free!
PhillyNORML conducts annual reports on the local marijuana arrests. More info:
Philly: Marijuana mug shots cost city $3million annually
Philly: White women rarely arrested for pot
PhillyNORML is the local chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. the group meets twice each month to plan reform activities.
Philly/PA topics
Philadelphia: Details of the new marijuana procedure
New poll shows 8 in 10 support medical marijuana in PA
PA: Quinnipiac poll 59% say medical marijuana is a ‘good idea’
VIDEO: Philadelphia 2010 marijuana march speeches by PhillyNORML and PA4MMJ
PA Senate considers medical marijuana, patients call for support
Comments
Cannabis is less physically addictive than caffeine, while the so-called "gateway drug" theory is a complete fantasy, and it was just recently called "half-baked" as a result of a scientific study. CNN reported that Cocaine use has dropped sharply, by 30% since 2002, which is really good news. I worked in addiction medicine for years, and this is what I can advice on the matter: Any suppression of Cannabis use will be immediately followed by an increase in alcohol/hard drug/prescription drug abuse! You don't believe me? Then maybe you will believe the Big Alcohol lobby that is financing the Cannabis Legalization opponents for exactly this reason. Right now Cannabis is just simply perceived as a much safer alternative to alcohol/hard drugs, which is precisely how it should be perceived. To have a society in which there is NO psychoactive substance use is an illusion, and it will be good for our government to realize this. So then, it becomes a matter of "safer choices", just like with the sex education. And Cannabis is, without a shadow of a doubt, a much safer choice than alcohol or hard drugs! Just very recently a research study in addiction medicine has determined that Cannabis may actually serve as an "exit" substance for recovering alcoholics/hard drug addicts! And there is another extremely important property of Cannabis that the prohibitionists would love to keep secret: Cannabis use suppresses violent urges and behaviors and, as one prestigious textbook says, "Only the unsophisticated think otherwise" Then, of course, there is a potential for Cannabis in chronic pain, where other drugs may be ineffective (or physically addictive), with very important potential implications for our wounded veterans, many of whom have chronic pain. It is also worth noting that Cannabis may have certain preventative value for such devastating conditions as cancer and Alzheimer's disease. And all this comes with no danger of overdoses or induction of a physical dependence! Let's be very happy that the cocaine abuse rate is dropping. Let's not interfere with these dynamics, and then we can possibly achieve what has already been achieved in the Netherlands where the drug overdose rate is 85%(!!) lower than in the US, and that is with much more liberal Cannabis possession laws than in this country! Maybe it is time to give up "dogma" about Cannabis, and to start listening to the experts, if we really want to lower the alcohol/hard drug use in this country, and the accompanying dependencies and overdoses!
I just moved here from California and cannot believe my state is still doing this. What a TOTAL waste of time and taxpayers money!! Smoking grass should NOT be against the law for adults in 2010...this is just sickening!
Got something to say?
Examiner.com is looking for writers, photographers, and videographers to join the fastest growing group of local insiders. If you are interested in growing your online rep apply to be an Examiner today!