Editing Drug prohibition (section)

===United States===
{{Main|Drug policy of the United States}}
[[File:US incarceration timeline.gif|thumb|Total [[United States incarceration rate|incarceration]] in the United States by year]]
[[File:US Cannabis Arrests.svg|thumb|US cannabis arrests by year]]

Drug possession is the crime of having one or more illegal drugs in one's possession, either for personal use, distribution, sale or otherwise. Illegal drugs fall into different categories and sentences vary depending on the amount, type of drug, circumstances, and jurisdiction. In the U.S., the penalty for illegal drug possession and sale can vary from a small fine to a prison sentence. In some states, marijuana possession is considered to be a petty offense, with the penalty being comparable to that of a speeding violation. In some municipalities, possessing a small quantity of marijuana in one's own home is not punishable at all. Generally, however, drug possession is an arrestable offense, although first-time offenders rarely serve jail time. Federal law makes even possession of "soft drugs", such as cannabis, illegal, though some local governments have laws contradicting federal laws.

In the U.S., the [[War on drugs|War on Drugs]] is thought to be contributing to a [[prison overcrowding in the United States|prison overcrowding]] problem. In 1996, 59.6%<ref>Miller, Jerome (1996) ''Search and Destroy: African-American Males in the Criminal Justice System''. Cambridge University Press, New York. {{ISBN|0521598583}}</ref> of prisoners were drug-related criminals. The U.S. population grew by about +25% from 1980 to 2000. In that same 20 year time period, the U.S. prison population tripled, making the U.S. the world leader in both percentage and absolute number of citizens incarcerated. The United States has 5% of the world's population, but 25% of the prisoners.<ref>{{cite news
|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/23/world/americas/23iht-23prison.12253738.html
|title=U.S. prison population dwarfs that of other nations
|work=The New York Times
|author=Liptak, Adam
|date=April 23, 2008
|access-date=January 16, 2012}}</ref>

About 90% of [[Incarceration in the United States|United States prisoners]] are incarcerated in state jails. In 2016, about 572,000, over 44%, of the 1.3 million people in these state jails, were serving time for drug offenses. 728,000 were incarcerated for violent offenses.<ref name=wsj170128>{{Cite web |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-better-approach-to-violent-crime-1485536313 |title=A Better Approach to Violent Crime |access-date=January 28, 2017 |author1=John Pfaff |date=January 28, 2017 |work= Wall Street Journal }}</ref>

The data from [[Federal Bureau of Prisons]] online statistics page states that 45.9% of prisoners were incarcerated for drug offenses, as of December 2021.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.bop.gov/about/statistics/statistics_inmate_offenses.jsp |title=Federal Bureau of Prisons - Statistics - Offenses |access-date=December 25, 2021 |date=December 25, 2021 |work= Federal Bureau of Prisons }}</ref>