Drug arrests have tripled since 1980. As a result, more than 31 million people have been arrested for drug offenses since the drug war began.3 To put the matter in perspective, consider this: there are more people in prisons and jails today just for drug offenses than were incarcerated for all reasons in 1980.4 The population under correctional control—on probation or parole—has tripled as well, an increase driven almost entirely by drug convictions and other nonviolent crimes.
