The FBI has just released its annual crime report for 2004. Violent crimes are down again, having dropped consistently for the last decade and a half (now at a 30 year low). But here's the shocking statistic that shows that the police are spending more time and money trying to stop people from smoking a joint than protecting us from real victimization. In 2004, there were 771,605 arrests for marijuana alone, 90% of them for possession only, not distribution. Meanwhile, arrests for all violent crimes combined totaled 590,258. I suggest it's time to seriously cut back on law enforcement budgets.