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naraburns  nihil supernum  1yr ago (text post)   32402 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of January 23, 2023

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how many people in US actually are jailed for a possession of a less than a gram of weed?

I don't know about a gram, but for solely marijuana possession with no prior sentences, a very small amount in state prison and now none in federal prison, Biden pardoned them 3 months ago. However to my knowledge the federal law hasn't come off the books so anyone can still be charged. Overall enforcement by police is way down though.

Good point on the pardon.

Yeah, I know it’s on the books, but it doesn’t matter. We have a lot of laws are on the books but don’t really get enforced in a way books specify. What I really am interested about is actual figure. I know that this is really rare, and most incarcerated people are there for much more serious offenses, but how many people actually currently serve a sentence for simple possession of less than a gram of weed? 1000? 100? 10? Nobody?

Overall enforcement by police is way down though.

It was never that high. There was a report in the early 2000s where the median weed offender in state or federal prison had over 100 lbs (perhaps kgs, I'd have to re-check) in their possession. That is median, not mean.

Federal is the key word there. Most weed offenders are at the state level

No it included both.

you edited your post

I did not.

Why not? It equally counts people caught with .000000000001 lbs. Going by median is how you diminish outliers.

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