Still an absurd number of Americans arrested for pot charges

Hit & Run - New FBI data indicate that the number of marijuana arrests in the United States rose last year for the first time since 2009. The change, from 693,482 in 2013 to 700,993 in 2014, represented an increase of just 1 percent, but it suggests that enforcement has intensified in jurisdictions where possessing small amounts of marijuana is still an arrestable offense. In recent years states such as Massachusetts, California, Colorado, and Washington have eliminated such arrests, contributing to a downward trend that began in 2010. Marijuana arrests also have fallen sharply in New York City since 2011 and continued to fall there in 2014. Last year's national total was still 18 percent lower than the 2009 peak of 858,408.