N.J. pot arrests have increased even as legislators consider legalization

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As public acceptance of marijuana use grows in the United States, nationwide arrests for simple possession of pot have dropped in recent years. New Jersey is going in the opposite direction.

Marijuana arrests in the state jumped 10 percent in 2012 and 2013, according to the latest New Jersey State Police Uniform Crime Reports.

In fact, the 24,765 arrests made for possessing small amounts of marijuana in 2013 is the highest number in 20 years, and nearly double the amount in 1993, when the state's population was 12 percent less, based on state police statistics and an analysis by the ACLU of New Jersey. In the five years prior to 2013, arrests had hovered around 22,000.

The numbers were highlighted at a historic state Senate Committee hearing on pot legalization held in Trenton last week.

Udi Ofer, executive director of the state's ACLU chapter, testified at the Trenton hearing that...

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