THERE WERE 67,742 CASES REPORTED TO
THE UNITED STATES SENTENCING COMMISSION
IN FISCAL YEAR 2016.
OF THESE CASES, 19,222 INVOLVED
DRUG TRAFFICKING.1
17.6% OF DRUG TRAFFICKING OFFENSESINVOLVED MARIJUANA.2

Marijuana Trafficking Offenses
In fiscal year 2016, there were 3,381 marijuana trafficking offenders, who accounted for
17.6% of all offenders sentenced under the drug trafficking guidelines. The number ofmarijuana offenders has decreased by 50.2% from the 6,792 offenders in fiscal year 2012.

Number of Marijuana
Trafficking Offenders
10,0008,000

Offender and Offense Characteristics

6,792

6,000
3,381

4,000
2,0000FY 2012FY 2016

Top Five Districts
Marijuana Trafficking Offenders
FY 2016
Western District of Texas(N=852)District of Arizona(N=688)Southern District of Texas(N=596)
District of New Mexico(N=354)Eastern District of California(N=79)•In fiscal year 2016, the majority of marijuana trafficking offenders were male (89.9%).

•More than three-quarters of marijuana trafficking offenders were Hispanic (77.7%)
followed by White (11.8%), Black (7.8%), and Other Races (2.8%).

•The average age of these offenders at sentencing was 33 years.

•Less than half of marijuana trafficking offenders were United States citizens (42.4%).

•Nearly two-thirds (65.6%) of marijuana trafficking offenders had little or no priorcriminal history (i.e., assigned to Criminal History Category I) while 1.8% wereCareer Offenders (§4B1.1).

•The median base offense level in these cases was 22. This corresponds to a quantity ofdrugs between 176 and 220 pounds of marijuana.

•Marijuana trafficking sentences were increased for:
 6.8% of offenders because the offense involved the possession of a weapon;
 5.0% of offenders for having a leadership or supervisory role in the offense.

•Marijuana trafficking sentences were decreased for:
 38.9% of offenders because they were a minor or minimal participant in theoffense; 54.1% of offenders because they met the safety valve criteria in the sentencing
guidelines.

Sentence Length of Marijuana
Trafficking Offenders
FY 2016

Less than 5years
86.9%

5 to 10years
10.5%

10 years ormore
2.7%
1Drug trafficking offenses include cases with complete guideline
application information in which the offender was sentenced under
USSG §§2D1.1 (Drug Trafficking), 2D1.2 (Protected Locations), 2D1.5(Continuing Criminal Enterprise), 2D1.6 (Use of a Communication
Facility), 2D1.8 (Rent/Manage Drug Establishment), 2D1.10(Endangering Human Life), or 2D1.14 (Narco-Terrorism).
2This analysis does not include simple possession offenses, which
accounted for 8.9% of all drug offenses reported to the Commission in
fiscal year 2016.

Punishment•Most marijuana trafficking offenders were sentenced to imprisonment (92.7%).

•

The average sentence for marijuana trafficking offenders was 26 months.

•Slightly more than a quarter (27.0%) of all marijuana trafficking offenders wereconvicted of an offense carrying a mandatory minimum penalty.
 However, nearly seventy percent (69.5%) of these offenders were not subject toany mandatory minimum penalty at sentencing because:
15.0% provided the government with substantial assistance in theinvestigation or prosecution of other offenders, 45.4% were eligible for relief
through the statutory safety valve provision, and 9.1% received both forms ofrelief.

Marijuana Trafficking Offenses
Sentences Relative to the Guideline Range••

The rate of government sponsored below range sentences for marijuanatrafficking offenders followed an inverse pattern from within range sentences,with the rate increasing from fiscal years 2012 through 2014 before decreasing ineach of the past two years. The rate of government sponsored below range
sentences was 33.9% in fiscal year 2016.
•

Substantial assistance departures were granted for 18.5% of marijuanatrafficking offenders in fiscal years 2013 and 2014. Since then they havesteadily decreased to 16.8% in fiscal year 2015 and 12.4% in fiscal year2016.
 In fiscal year 2016, these offenders received an average reduction intheir sentence of 54.0%.

WithinGov't Spons. Below

Above
Other Below

100.0

75.0
50.0
25.0
0.0
FY
2012

FY2013

FY2014FY2015FY2016

Government Sponsored
Below Range Sentences
FY 2016
Substantial

3

Early Disposition Program (EDP) departures were granted for 12.0% ofmarijuana trafficking offenders in fiscal year 2016.
 In fiscal year 2016, these offenders received an average reduction in
their sentence of 50.1%.

Assistance
36.7%

Other Gov'tBelow
28.0%

The rate of marijuana trafficking offenders receiving a below range sentencesponsored by the government for reasons other than substantial assistance orparticipation in an Early Disposition Program increased from fiscal years
2012 through 2014 before decreasing to 9.3% in fiscal year 2015. In 2016,
this rate was 9.5%.
In fiscal year 2016, these offenders received an average reduction in
their sentence of 39.5%.

EDP3
35.4%

The rate of non-government sponsored below range sentences for marijuanatraffickers increased from fiscal years 2012 through 2014 before decreasing to
17.2% in fiscal year 2015. The rate of non-government sponsored below range
sentence increased to 18.6% in fiscal year 2016.
•Sentence Relative to theGuideline Range

The rate of within range sentences for marijuana trafficking offenders fell fromfiscal year 2012 through fiscal year 2014 before increasing in fiscal years 2015
and 2016. The within-range rate was 45.8 % in fiscal year 2016.

Average Sentence andAverage Guideline Minimum(in months)

In fiscal year 2016, these offenders received an average reduction in theirsentence of 43.1%.

Sentence

Guideline Minimum

300
The average guideline minimum and average sentence for marijuana trafficking
has decreased since fiscal year 2013.


The average guideline minimum increased from 41 to 50 months between
fiscal years 2012 and 2013, and steadily decreased to 34 months by fiscal
year 2016;
The average sentence imposed increased from 34 to 39 months between
fiscal years 2012 and 2013, and steadily decreased to 26 months by fiscalyear 2016.

SOURCE: United States Sentencing Commission, 2012 through 2016
Datafiles, USSCFY12-USSCFY16.

1000FY2012

FY2013

FY2014FY2015FY2016

one Columbus Circle, N.E.

3

“Early Disposition Program (or EDP) departures” are departures
where the government sought a sentence below the guideline range
because the defendant participated in the government’s Early
Disposition Program, through which cases are resolved in an expedited
manner. See USSG §5K3.1.

200

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