With the growing acceptance of legalized cannabis markets today in various states throughout the U.S., you might assume that there has been a general shift in attitude from law enforcement and lawmakers, perhaps a reconsideration of priorities—a focus on violent offenders and less on making crimes where there aren't any. Sadly, that isn't the case.

In 2017, over 1 million arrests were made for drug law violations.

Most of these “offenses,” about 85 percent of them, were simply for possession alone and this rate of arrest is at least a 4 percent increase from 2016.

This means that drug possession and drug-related crimes still remain one of the top causes for arrest in the country. The war on drugs hasn't proven to be wasteful enough just yet.

The average cost of processing an offender for a drug-related crime through the U.S. “justice system” is suggested to cost as much as $70,000.

The cost of policing cannabis alone and trying to enforce cannabis possession laws is suggested to cost somewhere around $3.6 billion.

Billions of dollars, your hard-earned tax dollars, being spent to police victimless crimes.

When individuals are arrested for their personal drug use choices, the state is creating criminals where there aren't any, because no one has had their property violated simply due to someone's drug use alone.

There are many other real crimes taking place around the United States today, human trafficking is regarded as the fastest growing criminal enterprise in the country.

It would make more sense for law enforcement to focus more of their resources on investigating and policing real crimes (that have victims). The continuation of the war on drugs is an effort which erodes civil liberties for everyone and has contributed to the bankrupting of a nation.

Does anyone else have more authority than you over your own body? Does anyone else have the right to tell you what to put into your own body? If they don't, doesn't the amount of time and money spent on trying to prevent such actions seem like nothing short of a complete nonsensical tragedy?

If law enforcement agents around the nation didn't insist on violating basic natural rights, then the U.S. wouldn't continue to have the largest prison population in the world.

Not only have they wasted incredible resources trying to police drugs, but they've ultimately failed at their goal; drugs are still readily available and addicts prevalent in all major cities etc. Not much good has been accomplished from the war on drugs but there is plenty of wrongdoing that has been committed against innocent people though, with many innocent people ultimately losing their lives.

Pics:
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