“I agree completely with the idea that we have got to stop imprisoning people who use marijuana. . . . We have a huge population in our prisons for nonviolent, low-level offenses that are primarily due to marijuana,” the front-running former secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, chimed in.
Undeniably, the population of state prisons (which house the vast majority of offenders) grew from 294,000 in 1980 to 1,362,000 in 2009 — a stunning 363 percent increase — though it has been on a downward trajectory since the latter date.
Reviewing data admittedly drawn mostly from Northern “blue” states, Pfaff determined that “the median stay in prison for a drug offender is generally about a year,” and that “relatively few people appear to be in prison on marijuana charges” — fewer still for simple possession.
Republicans and Democrats alike are propounding the crowd-pleasing notion that we can have less incarceration — saving the country billions of dollars and international shame — without risking an increase in violent crime, or other harms.
The Post’s View: The U.S. locks up way too many people. That could change.