Pubdate: Sun, 17 Oct 1999 Source: Reuters Copyright: 1999 Reuters Limited. Cited: Marijuana Policy Project http://www.mpp.org/ US MARIJUANA BUSTS REMAINED HIGH IN 1998 The number of marijuana arrests last year remained near the 1997 record high and surpassed those for murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault combined, a group that lobbies for the reform of marijuana laws reported Sunday. Citing statistics from the FBI's report of crime statistics for 1998, the Washington-based Marijuana Policy Project said there were 682,885 arrests related to the drug in 1998, down 1.8 percent from the record high of 695,200 in 1997. "This is a tremendous waste of criminal justice resources,'' said Chuck Thomas, spokesman for the group, which lobbies lawmakers to legalize medical marijuana prescribed by doctors for illnesses that cause pain or discomfort associated with the treatment of cancer or AIDS. The 1998 marijuana arrests, 88 percent of which were for possession as opposed to sale or manufacture, exceeded last year's arrests for murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault combined, the Marijuana Policy project said in its statement. The FBI report that contained the drug data also showed that the United States had the lowest murder rate in more than 30 years and that the overall number of serious crimes reported in 1998 fell 5 percent, the seventh consecutive annual decline. Citing other government statistics, the Marijuana Policy Project has reported that there are 59,300 marijuana offenders in U.S. prisons and jails at any given time. "It is time to stop arresting adults who grow and consume their own marijuana at home -- and instead put these public resources into violent-crime enforcement and effective drug education,'' said Thomas. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake