August 6, 1998

California Marijuana Arrests Soar Despite 215’s Passage

August 6, 1998, Sacramento, CA: California law enforcement arrested more citizens on marijuana charges in 1997 than in any year since 1985, newly released figures from the Bureau of Criminal Statistics revealed. The rising number of arrests one full year after voters legalized the use of marijuana for medical purposes alarmed many activists who question whether police are continuing to punish patients despite the new law.

"The government has spent more money trying to persecute medical marijuana patients than trying to implement Prop. 215," charged California NORML Coordinator Dale Gieringer. "Not only has Attorney General Dan Lungren ignored Prop. 215’s mandate to establish a plan for ‘safe and affordable distribution’ of medical marijuana, he is wasting taxpayers’ money prosecuting those who do."

Law enforcement arrested 57,667 Californians on marijuana charges in 1997, the data showed. Seizures of cultivated marijuana also rose to near-record levels in 1997, law enforcement statistics indicated.

"These arrest figures fly in the face of prohibitionist claims that the passage of Proposition 215 ‘legalized’ marijuana for recreational use," NORML Executive Director R. Keith Stroup, Esq. said. "Police continue to arrest marijuana smokers in California—many of whom are valid medical patients—at a record pace despite the protections allotted by the new law."