Proponents of drug legalization in its myriad forms continually assert that prisons are being jammed with first time drug possession offenders, taking up the space where the really violent prisoners should be. These innocent victims of the drug war (their term) are being persecuted solely because of their drug use.

Wrong.

Look at these numbers from the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics for the year 2000:

• One fifth of those entering state prisons were there for drug offenses.
• Of that fifth, one fourth were convicted of possession (as opposed to trafficking, manufacturing, etc.).
• That leaves only 5 percent in prison for possession.
• Only 13 percent of that 5 percent were there for marijuana possession.
• Therefore, less than 1 percent (0.73) of all those incarcerated in state prisons were there for marijuana possession.
• The federal prison rate is even lower – 0.27 percent.

These “simple possession” prisoners are no strangers to courtrooms. Take Florida’s data for example. As of 2003, out of a prison population of 75,236, only 88 were incarcerated for marijuana possession. Of those 88, 40 had been in prison before. Even the remaining 48 who were first timers had prior probation sentences, with the vast majority (44) having had their probation revoked at least once. Cocaine possession offenders (only 3.2 percent of the prison population) typically have extensive arrest histories, with 70.2 percent having previously served time. And none of these statistics reflect the fact that pleabargaining brings many arrest charges down to possession.