The number of people sentenced for federal marijuana-related crimes dropped for the fifth year in a row, according to data released this week by the U.S. Sentencing Commission.
A total of 3,534 offenders received sentences for federal marijuana crimes in 2016. The overwhelming majority of these cases — 3,398 of them — involved trafficking marijuana. Another 122 individuals received federal sentences for simple possession of marijuana, although some of these offenders may have pleaded down from a more serious offense.
The commission’s statistics show that more than 97 percent of people charged with a federal crime plead guilty, rather than go to trial.
Colorado and Washington became the first states to legalize recreational marijuana in 2012. The data show a sharp drop in the number of federal marijuana sentences the following year, down from 6,992 to 4,942.
The sale and use of marijuana for any purpose, recreational, medical or otherwise, remains a crime at the federal level even in states where it’s legal. But in 2013 the Justice Department issued guidance giving federal prosecutors leeway to ignore certain marijuana offenses, provided such behavior was otherwise in compliance with an applicable state law.
These federal numbers don’t include sentencing under state and local law, where the overwhelming majority of drug enforcement takes place. In 2015, for instance, more than a half-million people were arrested by state or local authorities for simple marijuana possession, according to FBI statistics. By contrast, only about 3,500 people received federal sentences for marijuana crimes of any sort that year.
Federal sentences for heroin have more than doubled over the past 10 years, according to the USSC. While 1,382 people received federal heroin sentences in 2007, over 2,800 were sentenced for heroin crimes last year.
