NJ Marijuana Arrest Totals Remained High For 2014

Police charged 24,689 New Jersey residents with marijuana possession in 2014.

That’s the figure reported by the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General last month in the agency’s annual Uniform Crime Statistics survey.

In addition, 3,348 Garden State residents were arrested for growing and selling cannabis in 2014, the NJ OAG stated.

Both figures are consistent with arrest trends over the past four years.

The annual report, prepared by the State Police Uniform Crime Reporting Unit, tracked offenses committed from January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014.

Arrests for marijuana and hashish possession during that period totaled:

• 2010 – 22,086
• 2011 – 22,118
• 2012 – 24,326
• 2013 – 24,765

Arrests for marijuana/hashish sales and manufacture totaled:

• 2010 – 3,951 arrests
• 2011 – 3,272
• 2012 – 3,468
• 2013 – 3,390

Some pro-marijuana Garden State activists were critical of the latest arrest totals.

“When I look at the nearly 25,000 marijuana possession arrests in 2014, I see nearly 25,000 missed opportunities for law enforcement to have done work that actually keeps people safe,” said J.H. Barr, a New Jersey United for Marijuana Reform steering committee member, Clark Municipal Prosecutor secretary and former president of the New Jersey State Municipal Prosecutors Association.

“Instead, law enforcement spends enormous resources to arrest and try people for using a drug that a majority of people believe should be legal,” Barr stated. “It’s time for common sense on marijuana policy, and that means legalization and regulation in New Jersey.”

“Jersey cops made 24,689 arrests for marijuana possession [in 2014]… That's one arrest every 21 minutes,” the ACLU of New Jersey stated in a May 7 newsletter. “It's a civil rights crisis. Blacks in New Jersey are nearly three times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than whites despite similar usage rates. That means three times more likely to have their homes, their families and their jobs put in jeopardy for a low-level offense that shouldn’t be considered a crime.”

• See related article: 420 News: NJ Medical Marijuana Report Released
• See related article: Police Lab Tech Allegedly Fakes Drug Tests, 2K Cases In Essex County Tainted: Authorities

RECENT NEW JERSEY MARIJUANA ARRESTS

Read about some recent marijuana-related arrests in New Jersey:

• Mickey Mouse-Clad Teen Charged With Marijuana Distribution In Howell
• Linden Police Sgt. Charged With Selling Marijuana: Prosecutor
• Marijuana Odor Leads To Heroin Arrest, Drug Charges for Toms River Man: Police
• 107 Pounds Of Marijuana, 9 Guns, $69K Recovered At Hillsborough Home
• Hoboken Police: Marijuana Wax Processing May Have Caused Apartment Fire
• Belleville Cops Find 28 Pounds Of Packaged Marijuana
• Woman Arrested With Over a Pound of Marijuana in Galloway: Police
• North Caldwell Cops Assist In Large Drug Bust: Father, Son Arrested
• Cedar Grove Cops Rack Up Marijuana Arrests In Essex County

File photo: Flickr Commons

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