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The drug war causes the high U.S. incarceration rate.

The majority of people incarcerated in prisons and jails in the USA are in due to drug-related offenses, crimes to get money for drugs, or drug-related parole or probation violations. Wikipedia: Drug-related crime. The number of inmates in the USA has increased almost 5 times over since 1980. It peaked in 2008. Obama's Democrat landslide in 2008 turned the incarceration rate around. The cost of the U.S. drug war is at least 1.5 trillion dollars. Cannabis is safer! Share link.

USA. Adult and juvenile correctional population

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USA and territories. 2,424,279 inmates in 2008. ...
In 2008 with less than 5% of world population the USA had 2.4 million of 9.8 million world prisoners (b). See latest numbers and World Prison Population List. The majority of inmates in the USA are in due to the drug war. The number of inmates in the USA has increased almost 5 times over since 1980. It peaked in 2008.
Total US inmates 2007-8

From U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics. See template. See source info.

USA. Adult and juvenile inmate stats. Share link.

US adult correctional population, 2000-2012

Correctional Populations in the United States. By Bureau of Justice Statistics. See info.

Long timeline of U.S. incarceration

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US incarceration timeline

November Coalition graph. Some Congressmen and police who prosecuted the War on Drugs now believe it caused a large increase in the United States incarceration rate. See Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, and larger chart with sources. See template. Incarceration peaked in 2008.

Cost of U.S. drug war

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Cost of U.S. drug war. Even $1.5 trillion dollars is conservative since many crimes are committed in order to get money for drugs. State prisons averaged $31,268 per inmate in 2010. See: Drug war causes high U.S. incarceration rate. See: Economics - Drug War Facts. See: 32 Reasons Why We Need To End The War On Drugs - Business Insider. See: The Budgetary Impact of Ending Drug Prohibition.
Cost of U.S

A Chart That Says the War on Drugs Isn't Working. By Serena Dai. The Atlantic Wire. 12 Oct 2012. "The numbers on this chart alone don't add up to $1.5 trillion, which represents a more inclusive count of drug control spending, with prison costs and state level costs determined by the Office of National Drug Control Policy, but instead to $800 billion." See: Cost of U.S. drug war. Share link.

US incarceration rate timeline

Cost of criminal justice system in the USA

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Appendix Table 1. Total justice expenditures, 1982–2007. USA.
Real (inflation adjusted to 2007), and nominal dollars (unadjusted). $228 billion in 2007. Police, corrections, courts.
Year Nominal dollars
(in millions)
Real dollars
(in millions)
1982 $35,842 $84,129
1987 58,871 114,484
1992 93,777 154,912
1997 129,793 189,463
2002 179,580 227,672
2007 227,563 227,563
Justice Expenditures and Employment, FY 1982-2007. NCJ 236218. U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS).
US criminal justice cost timeline

$228 billion total in 2007 according to BJS data. $36 billion in 1982 (not adjusted for inflation). Detailed yearly costs timeline is here (scroll down). See inflation-adjusted chart. BJS is U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics. The majority of prisoners are incarcerated due to the drug war. See drug war charts and maps. State prisons averaged $31,286 per inmate in 2010. See: Costs of U.S. drug war.

U.S. federal mandatory minimum sentences

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First mandatory minimums chart below is from an older FAMM report, "Correcting Course: Lessons from the 1970s Repeal of Mandatory Minimum Sentences". FAMM is Families Against Mandatory Minimums. [3]. See Wikipedia: Mandatory minimums. The Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 increased the amounts of crack cocaine required to trigger 5 and 10 year sentences. [4]. See revised charts since then. Share link to this page.

For charts of all federal mandatory minimums (not just for drug offenses), go here.
Federal mandatory minimum drug sentences

Later chart with revisions, such as the amount of crack cocaine required for various sentences:
USA. Federal mandatory minimum drug sentences


Marijuana Majority

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It is now up to 58% for legalization in some polls.

Marijuana Majority

www.MarijuanaMajority.com

Chart of some incarceration rates worldwide

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Incarceration rates worldwide

See sourcing here. See charts and maps. Go here for latest incarceration rates for many nations. See Wikipedia list. See this category. Share link. See: Number incarcerated in the USA peaked in 2008.

Map of incarceration rates worldwide

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Prisoner population rate world map

Prisoners per 100,000 population. Gray in the map means no data. See the Commons image page for sources and more info. See List of countries by incarceration rate. See template. Article: Compare incarceration rates.

The map may be old. The latest data is here: Highest to Lowest - Prison Population Rate.
From World Prison Brief. Incarceration rates are based on inmates in both prisons and jails.

USA timeline. Prison, jail, probation, parole

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Correctional population USA

USA: Peak of 7.3 million people in 2007 under adult correctional supervision: On probation or parole, or incarcerated in jail or prison. About 3.2% of the U.S. adult population, or 1 in every 31 adults. More info here. See template.

USA. Incarceration rates by race and ethnicity

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USA 2009

Incarceration rates for adult males in U.S. jails and prisons by race and ethnicity. At midyear 2009, an estimated 4.7% of black non-Hispanic men were in prison or jail, compared to 1.8% of Hispanic men of any race, and 0.7% of white non-Hispanic men. Sources. More info: Race, ethnicity, and the drug war. See template.

USA timeline. Incarceration as a percentage of Americans

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US incarceration rate timeline

Timeline of U.S. incarceration in prisons and jails as a percentage of Americans of all ages. See template. Image source and data.

USA. Cannabis arrests over time

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Cannabis arrests. See:

http://www.norml.org/share/marijuana_arrests_chart500_short.gif
See source of above graph.

http://norml.org/share/marijuana_arrests_chart.gif
See source of above graph.

USA. Number of drug arrests over time, by drug type

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U.S. drug arrests

Arrests timeline by drug

Chart above from United States Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). See image info and sources. See cannabis arrests.

USA. Marijuana possession versus violent crime arrests

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Marijuana Possession Arrests Exceed Violent Crime Arrests (INFOGRAPHIC). 17 Jan 2013. Huffington Post.

USA

Drug war and incarceration rates worldwide

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