Federal prosecutions for marijuana trafficking continued to drop in 2022, according to the latest annual U.S. As more states moved to legalize cannabis and federal priorities changed, prosecutions of marijuana-related cases dropped substantially during the year.
The U.S. S.C. found that the number of federal cannabis-trafficking criminals has dropped from around 5,000 in 2013 to a little less than 806 this past year.
Meanwhile, the trafficking cases for powdered cocaine, fentanyl, and methamphetamine increased from 2021 to 2022.
The report also found marijuana cases carried the lowest sentences of any of the six types of drugs tracked by the USCC, with an average 33-month prison term in a cannabis trafficking case, compared to, say, 94 months for methamphetamines and 65 months for fentanyl.
The Commission has separately proposed revising its guidelines so federal judges will consider previous marijuana possession convictions with greater leniency when making sentencing decisions. Earlier this month, the Department of Justice testified in favor of this change in the U.S.S.C. Hearing.
Legalization advocates have long contended that providing adults with access to a regulated market for cannabis will reduce the demand for illegal products, which will result in fewer arrests. The USSCs new report is the latest to back up this notion, showing the gradual decrease in federal cannabis-trafficking cases as more states enacted legalization.
Meanwhile, federal data released by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in January showed marijuana seizures fell to a record low for fiscal year 2022, continuing a trend of enforcement actions advocates credit to a movement of legalization at the state level.
Federal marijuana-trafficking cases continued to drop in 2022, according to the latest annual reports by the U.S. As more states moved to legalize cannabis and federal priorities changed, prosecutions of marijuana-related cases dropped substantially during the year.
The U.S. S.C. found that the number of federal cannabis-trafficking criminals has dropped from around 5,000 in 2013 to a little less than 806 this past year. Meanwhile, the trafficking cases for powdered cocaine, fentanyl, and methamphetamine increased from 2021 to 2022.
The report also found marijuana cases carried the lowest sentences of any of the six types of drugs tracked by the USCC, with an average 33-month prison term in a cannabis trafficking case, compared to, say, 94 months for methamphetamines and 65 months for fentanyl.
The Commission has separately proposed revising its guidelines so federal judges will consider previous marijuana possession convictions with greater leniency when making sentencing decisions. Earlier this month, the Department of Justice testified in favor of this change in the U.S.S.C. Hearing.
Legalization advocates have long contended that providing adults with access to a regulated market for cannabis will reduce the demand for illegal products, which will result in fewer arrests.
The USSCs new report is the latest to back up this notion, showing the gradual decrease in federal cannabis-trafficking cases as more states enacted legalization.
Meanwhile, federal data released by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in January showed marijuana seizures fell to a record low for fiscal year 2022, continuing a trend of enforcement actions advocates credit to a movement of legalization at the state level.
A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released last year also painted a starker picture of who is getting caught in their enforcement actions.
At checkpoints around the country, agents are primarily taking small amounts of marijuana from American citizens, not making big busts of international cartels as some may suggest.
Moreover, in line with other studies and federal reports, this analysis shows that there has been a substantial decrease in cannabis seizures at checkpoints in general since 2016. In 2016, the Border Patrol apprehended 70,058 pounds of cannabis at checkpoints, down from 30,828 pounds in 2020.
The FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program has similarly shown notable reductions in cannabis “arrests” made at the local and state levels, as more states adopt reforms.
In another report from last year, the Congressional Research Service said the proliferation of legal marijuana states domestically, combined with reform efforts internationally, has reduced the demand for illegal marijuana from Mexico.
As part of the FY2023 Performance Budget Summary submitted to Congress last year, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) also acknowledged that, with more cannabis being produced at home in the United States, this is undermining the illegal cannabis trade along the southern border.
Federal drug-related crime prosecutions were up overall in 2019, according to a report released in late December by Chief Justice John Roberts, who chairs the Supreme Court.