{"id":55023,"date":"2022-03-30T04:20:44","date_gmt":"2022-03-30T04:20:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/merryjane.com\/the-feds-charged-less-than-1000-people-with-weed-offenses-last-year-a-record-low-since-war-on-drugs-began\/"},"modified":"2022-03-30T04:20:44","modified_gmt":"2022-03-30T04:20:44","slug":"the-feds-charged-less-than-1000-people-with-weed-offenses-last-year-a-record-low-since-war-on-drugs-began","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/merryjane.com\/news\/the-feds-charged-less-than-1000-people-with-weed-offenses-last-year-a-record-low-since-war-on-drugs-began\/","title":{"rendered":"The Feds Charged Less Than 1,000 People With Weed Offenses Last Year, a Record Low Since War on Drugs Began"},"content":{"rendered":"

The total number of people charged with federal cannabis crimes has fallen by 85%<\/u><\/a> in the past decade, according to a new report<\/u><\/a> by the US Sentencing Commission.<\/p>\n

In 2021, fewer than 1,000 people<\/u><\/a> were charged with violating federal cannabis laws \u2013 the first time that this figure has dropped to three digits since the War on Drugs began. A decade ago, before individual states began legalizing adult-use weed, federal officials charged nearly 7,000 people with cannabis sales, possession, or trafficking charges. But as more states have legalized and support for legalization grows, the rate of federal pot convictions has fallen. <\/p>\n

From 2012 to 2016, the total number of federal pot charges declined by 50%, and by 2021, the rate had fallen by 85%. And in that same decade, cannabis has gone from the most common federal pot charge to the least. In 2012, the majority of federal drug charges were related to weed. Last year, less than 6%<\/u><\/a> of all federal drug convictions were for cannabis.<\/p>\n