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This data point is over a decade old, but still: "the proportion of state prison inmates who were sentenced for marijuana-only offenses rose from 2.6% in 1990
by jarrett 13y ago
This data point is over a decade old, but still:
"the proportion of state prison inmates who were
sentenced for marijuana-only offenses rose from 2.6% in 1990 to 3.6% in 2000"
http://www.aclu-wa.org/library_files/BeckettandHerbert.pdf http://www.aclu-wa.org/library_files/BeckettandHerbert.pdf
The DOJ reported that there were 1,236,476 state inmates in 2000 (http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/p00.pdf http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/p00.pdf). So 3.6% of that would be 44,513 state inmates who were imprisoned for marijuana only in 2000.
- rlucas 13y agoIt's important to remember that in most states, sentences of under one year are served in county jails, not state prisons. The state prison numbers you describe are likely significantly to understate both absolute numbers and relative proportion, for this reason.
- jarrett 13y agoThat's a very good point that I should have addressed. The cited ACLU article goes on to say: "King and Mauer (2005) estimate that at least 68,000 people were in prison, on probation, or serving a jail sentence for a marijuana offense in 2003" So, that's 52% higher than the number I quoted for state prisons.