Despite being the most commonly used drug in the United States, with over 100 million Americans admitting to trying marijuana a least once, marijuana laws affect hundreds of thousands of people negatively every year.

In 2009, 858,000 people were arrested for marijuana-related offenses and in 88 percent of these arrests, the culprit was charged with possession only. In 2011, half of the 1.5 million arrests for drug-related offenses were for marijuana.

Not only are current marijuana policies affecting the hundreds of thousands of Americans who use marijuana, but these policies are costing an estimated $10 billion per year to the American taxpayers.

At a time when federal and state governments are cutting their budgets, should we reconsider marijuana policies?

The following infographic was provided by MacGregor & Collins, LLP.

Credit: MacGregor & Collins, LLP