Views on marijuana have been changing quite a bit in recent times. This not only includes changes in how society perceives the use of this drug; it also includes how some states and cities treat this drug in their law enforcement and legal systems.
However, despite these changes, being accused of possession of marijuana remains something that can have major impacts on a person in much of the U.S., including here in Ohio. For example, the number of marijuana arrests in the nation remains very high.
A recent Human Rights Watch and American Civil Liberties Union report found that, even when limiting it to just arrests for possession of small amounts of marijuana for personal use, the marijuana arrest total for the U.S last year exceeded half a million. Specifically, it was 574,641.
In comparison, the nation’s arrest total for violent offenses was only 505,681 for this same time period. And this was not just the total for one general type of violent crime, but all such crimes.
Being arrested for marijuana possession could expose a person to many things, including charges, impactful criminal proceedings, major potential penalties, financial hardships and significant effects on one’s life (including their employment outlook). As the report indicates, this challenging situation remains one that many Americans end up facing. What impacts do you think this has on the country as a whole?
When a person has been arrested for possession of a small amount of marijuana, what they do next can have some very big ramifications. That’s why getting quality legal advice as soon as one can be so critical in such circumstances.
Source: The New York Times, “Marijuana Arrests Outnumber Those for Violent Crimes, Study Finds,” Timothy Williams, Oct. 12, 2016