DEA Cannabis Eradication Efforts Dwindle
[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]A[/dropcap]ccording to annual data from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and first reported by NORML, DEA agents seized fewer total cannabis plants in 2018 than in 2017. While outdoor cannabis seizures are down, indoor seizures are not, and in addition, cannabis-related arrests increased by over 1,000 arrests.
The DEA’s Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program is geared toward halting the cultivation of cannabis in the United States, in the event that it is grown illegally. In 2018, DEA agents seized 2,820,170 outdoor cannabis plants, compared with 3,078,418 outdoor cannabis plants that were seized or destroyed in 2017, falling almost 260,000.
“At a time when roughly one-quarter of the country resides in a jurisdiction where adult marijuana use is legal, and when members of Congress are openly discussing removing cannabis from the federal Controlled Substances Act, it is time for these federal anti-marijuana efforts to be put out to pasture and for federal agencies to take positions that more closely comport with cannabis’ rapidly changing cultural status in America,” NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano told Marijuana Moment.
The overall report isn’t totally positive for members of the cannabis industry, however. While total seizures are down, DEA agents seized 304,000 indoor cannabis plants in 2017 compared to almost 600,000 in 2018. In addition, the DEA reported over $52 million in confiscated cannabis assets in 2018, more than twice what the agency confiscated in 2017. California, Kentucky, Washington, Mississippi and Virginia had the highest numbers of cannabis seizures. In California, for instance, over 1.8 million cannabis plants were seized by authorities.
The overall number of cannabis seizures is down 17 percent from 2017 and down 66 percent since 2016, signaling a steady decline in total seizures. The numbers only include cannabis seizures from federal agents, and not local law enforcement efforts. Additional numbers from the DEA’s 2018 report can be found here.
