Economics of Prohibition
Cost of the War on Drugs
Costs of the Drug War in Arkansas - 2008 Report
Analysis of Arkansas 2007 arrest data shows a total of 106,162 arrests (all ages) through agencies reporting in the NIBRS system, and 58,416 arrests through agencies still reporting through the UCR system. The total arrests were 164,578.
In NIBRS agencies, there were a total of 10,635 drug arrests (10% of total arrests), of which 5741 were marijuana possession arrests (54% of total drug arrests) and 871 were marijuana sales/manufacture arrests (8%). Marijuana offenses combined totaled 62% of the drug arrests. In comparison, the next highest drug arrest category was methamphetamine arrests, with 1123 possession (11%) and 378 sales/mfg (4%).
In UCR agencies, there were a total of 3642 drug arrests (6% of total arrests), of which 1677 were marijuana possession (46%) and 130 marijuana sales/manufacture (4%). In comparison, the next highest drug arrest category for possession was "other dangerous non-narcotic drugs" which includes methamphetamine, with 764 arrests (21%). Sales/manufacture of "synthetic narcotics" totaled 214, more than marijuana, at 6% of total arrests.
There is no explanation of why UCR agencies would produce substantially fewer drug arrests overall, or why the type of drug arrests would differ so significantly.
The City of Fayetteville 2007 adult arrests totaled 3628, with 560 drug arrests (15%). Marijuana possession charges totaled 395 (71 % of total). Next highest categories of Fayetteville adult drug possession arrests were 106 amphetamine/methamphetamine (19%) and 104 "other" (19%). (Totals of more than 100% result from arrests involving more than one drug type.)
Estimation of the cost for drug arrests in Arkansas can be extrapolated from two recent studies: a December 2003 analysis of Virginia arrests, which found that 2001 marijuana possession arrests cost an average of $3003 per arrest. A 2005 study of national arrest data estimated a per-arrest cost for marijuana offenses at $5096 for police alone. Subsequent increases in gasoline prices have no doubt created a significant rise in such costs, as many marijuana possession arrests result from traffic stops. Per arrest costs for Arkansas have not been researched.
Calculating Arkansas arrest costs using the 2003 and 2005 research data sets produces a range of total drug arrest cost estimates from $42,873,831 up to $72,755,592 annually. For marijuana possession alone, the cost estimates range from $22,762,254 up to $37,802,128.
For the City of Fayetteville, 2007 adult drug possession arrest cost estimates based on these data sets total $1,681,680 up to $2,853,760, with marijuana possession adult arrests costing an estimated $1,186,185 up to $2,012,920 per year. In 2006, there were a total of 854 drug possession charges, with 456 for marijuana (53%) at an estimated cost range of $1,369,368 to $2,323,776. Fayetteville marijuana arrests from 1998 through 2005 averaged 365 per year, at an estimated average cost range of $1,096,095 to $1,860,040 annually.
Costs of the Drug War in Arkansas -- 2005 Report
1. Arkansas spends over $122 million yearly to prohibit illegal drugs.
According to the most recent figures from the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), in 1999 state and local expenditures on control of illegal drugs exceeded $13 billion per year. With Arkansas at .94% of national population, its per capita share of this cost is $122,200,000.
Source: National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences, “Informing America’s Policy on Illegal Drugs: What We Don’t Know Keeps Hurting Us,” (Washington DC: National Academy Press, 2001) p. 1
2. Arkansas spends over $32 million per year for police enforcement of drug laws.
Arkansas arrested 14,873 persons for drug law violations in 1999, 6.8% of its total arrests. Police costs for these arrests, based on the Bureau of Justice statistics, was $32,023,920.
3. Of this, Arkansas spends over $20 million for marijuana arrests alone.
Arkansas arrested 9421 persons for marijuana law violations in 1999, 4.3% of its total arrests. Police costs for these arrests, based on the Bureau of Justice statistics, was $20,250,420.
Source: Bauer, Lynn & Steven D. Owens, “Justice Expenditure and Employment in the United States, 2001" (Washington DC: US Dept of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, May 2004), NCJ202792, p. 4.
Source: Arrest Data 1999, Arkansas Crime Information Center
4. Arkansas spends over $29,300,000 yearly on marijuana arrest, prosecution, and jail.
In 2000, marijuana offenses were 3.87% of all state arrests. Police costs were estimated at $13.6 million; judicial and legal costs over $3 million, and correctional costs over $12.6 million.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Criminal Justice Expenditure and Employment Extracts Program (2000); Uniform Crime Reports, County-level Details Arrest and Offense Data (2000). Full report “Crimes of Indiscretion” online at www.norml.org.
5. Over 24% of Arkansas’s corrections system population are prisoners of the drug war, costing the state over $86 million per year.
In 1998, Arkansas prisons housed 15,950 prisoners, of which 3834 were drug law offenders (24%). Based on Bureau of Justice statistics where Arkansas’ annual cost for state corrections is $301,054,000, drug law violators account for corrections expenditures of approximately $86,652,960.
The average annual cost in the United States for total justice expenditures in 2001 was $167 billion, of which local police accounted for 30% and state corrections for 23%. Arkansas’s share in this cost per year is $470,940,000 for police and $301,054,000 for state corrections.
Source: Leslie Powell, Director, Arkansas Sentencing Commission by phone July 2000.
Source: Bauer, Lynn & Steven D. Owens, “Justice Expenditure and Employment in the United States, 2001" (Washington DC: US Dept of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, May 2004), NCJ202792, p. 4.
Money Wasted in Failed Drug War Could Help Our Kids -- 2005 Analysis
· Arkansas taxpayers spend over $20 million per year paying police to arrest marijuana users. 1 In many states, persons caught with marijuana receive a citation like a traffic ticket, which saves millions of dollars in expenditures for police, legal services, and corrections. Researchers have found that giving 'on-the-spot' fines to marijuana users did not cause marijuana use to increase. 2
· Almost $13 million of the state correctional budget is spent on marijuana offenders if marijuana offenders are incarcerated at the same proportion of overall offenses as they are arrested, at 4.3%. 3
· Do we want to build more prisons instead of schools? In 2002 about 15% of the population admitted using marijuana in the last month. In Arkansas, that's about 305,000 people. Do we really expect our law enforcement community to be diligent in its duty under current law to arrest these nonviolent offenders? 4
· Arkansas spends over $122 million per year in support of failed drug policies. How many children would avoid the risk of addiction if that money was invested in early education, family support, and community health and mental services treatment centers? 5
1 Marijuana arrests comprise 4.3% of total Arkansas arrests at a police cost of $20,250,420 for 2001. The Bureau of Justice Statistics report “Justice Expenditures and Employment in the United States, 2001,” by Lynn Bauer and Steven D. Owens, (Washington D C: US Dept of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, May 2004), NCJ202792., p. 4, revealed total justice expenditures in 2001 of $167 billion, of which local police accounted for 30%. At .94% of the national population, Arkansas’ estimated police costs in 2001 were $470 million.
2 Ali, Robert, et al., The Social Impacts of the Cannabis Expiation Notice Scheme in South Australia: Summary Report (Canberra, Australia: Department of Health and Aged Care, 1999) p. 44.
3 Bauer and Owens study noted that state corrections accounted for 23% of the $167 total justice expenditures in 2001, of which the Arkansas share would be $301,054,000.
4 Over 24% of the Arkansas prison population are prisoners of the drug war, costing the state over $86 million per year. (Data from Arkansas Sentencing Commission for 2000)
5 The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) estimated that in 1999 state and local expenditures on control of illegal drugs exceeded $13 billion per year. Arkansas’ per capita cost, based on these figures, would be $122,200,000 per year. (National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences “Informing America’s Policy on Illegal Drugs: What We Don’t Know Keeps Hurting Us,” (Washington DC: National Academy Press, 2001) p. 1)
See www.acic.org for Arkansas arrest data
For 2001 census figures on Arkansas population, see http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/05000.html
SEE ALSO:
UA Football Team Captain Arrested for Marijuana Sales
The Budgetary Implications of Marijuana Prohibition
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