Over 21,000 Arrested in California on Marijuana Charges in 2012

The California Attorney General has released its 2012 Crime Report.

According to the report, there were 13,434 felony marijuana arrests in California in 2012, continuing a downward trend from 14,082 in 2011. Hispanics were the most-arrested ethnic group, with 4953 felony arrests, followed by whites (4617), blacks (2745) and other races (1119). Juvenile felony arrests remained stable, coming in at 1671, or 12.4% of all felony arrests for marijuana.

Misdemeanor marijuana arrests took a nosedive in 2011 because under an ounce became an infraction that year; infractions are not tallied in the AG’s report. Marijuana misdemeanor arrests came in at 7768 in 2012, almost identical to the number in 2011 (7764). The number of marijuana misdemeanor arrests in 2010 was 54, 849.

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