For the first time since 2002, we’re putting less people in jail for possession of marijuana:

U.S. marijuana arrests declined in 2008 – the first such drop since 2002 — according to figures released by the FBI today. According to the just-released Uniform Crime Reports, U.S. law enforcement made 847,863 arrests on marijuana charges, 89 percent of which were for possession, not sale or manufacture — more arrests for marijuana possession than for all violent crimes combined. An American was arrested on marijuana charges every 37 seconds.

Marijuana arrests peaked in 2007 at over 872,000.

The new report comes on the heels of the 2008 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, released Sept. 10, which showed an increase in both the number and percentage of Americans who admit having used marijuana. In 2003, when marijuana arrests set what was then an all-time record of 755,186, 40.6 percent of Americans aged 12 and over said they had used marijuana. In 2008, that figure was 41 percent, or 102,404,000 Americans willing to tell government survey-takers that they had used marijuana.

So, let’s piece together that timeline. As marijuana arrests grew from 2002 through 2007, use also increased. Sure, it’s correlation, but drug usage isn’t like other crimes, which are often guided by the forces of economics. Seems to me like getting high is just part of human nature, so arrests will be about as effective as prohibition of booze or tobacco.

Given the above, how does our war on drugs actually help us?