Despite reforms across the country, arrests for marijuana continued to climb in 2014 to 700,993, the FBI reports.

One American will be arrested for pot every 45 seconds. Almost all marijuana arrests (88.4%) were for possession alone. Pot arrests account for almost half of all arrests made for drugs. And drug arrests are the number one most popular arrest category for police.

By contrast, more than half of all violent crimes reported in 2014 did not result in an arrest. The nation also has a massive rape kit testing backlog that goes unfunded.

Marijuana arrests rose last year from 693,482 in 2013. Activists decried the ongoing war on American users of marijuana — a substance far less harmful than alcohol. About 53% percent of Americans think cannabis should be legal for adults 21 and over.

“It’s unacceptable that police still put this many people in handcuffs for something that a growing majority of Americans think should be legal. A record number of states are expected to vote on legalizing marijuana next year, so we hope and expect to see these numbers significantly dropping soon. There’s just no good reason that so much police time and taxpayer money is spent punishing people for marijuana when so many murders, rapes and robberies go unsolved,” stated Tom Angell for MarijuanaMajority.com.

“Enforcing marijuana laws costs us about $3.6 billion a year, yet the War on Marijuana has failed to diminish the use or availability of marijuana,” the ACLU states.

Marijuana arrests in America are also racially skewed. Blacks are up to 30 times as likely to be arrested for pot than whites, despite similar use rates.

California voters will likely decide on adult-use cannabis legalization in November 2016. Nevada, Arizona, Maine, and Massachusetts will also vote on cannabis legalization next year. Washington and Oregon have begun expunging records of convictions for cannabis crimes that no longer exist in those states. Ohio will also vote on legalization and could begin expunging records as well.

A coalition of over 600 churches has also called for an end to the War on Drugs.

The U.S. has been called “the leader of the unfree world“, because it has the highest rate of incarceration of any nation in modern history. One out of 35 adults are under some form of state supervision.

“These numbers refute the myth that nobody actually gets arrested for using marijuana,” stated Mason Tvert for Marijuana Policy Project. “It’s hard to imagine why more people were arrested for marijuana possession when fewer people than ever believe it should be a crime. … While law enforcement was busy making nearly three quarters of a million marijuana arrests, more than 35% of murders went unsolved, the clearance rate for rape was less than 40%, and for robbery and property crimes, it was below 30%.

“Could you imagine if hundreds of thousands of adults were arrested last year simply for possessing alcohol? That would be crazy. It’s even crazier that hundreds of thousands of adults were arrested for possessing a less harmful substance.

“As long as we have these silly laws on the books, law enforcement resources will be wasted on enforcing them. It’s time for state officials to step up and end the outdated policy of marijuana prohibition.”