I'll state for the record that I'm not necessarily a fan of the war on drugs. Now, I don't necessarily agree with this particular scenario, but the point is that statistics are typically a gross over-simplification of the problem. Making policy based on any one statistic such as the one you mentioned is not a wise thing to do. Likewise, judging policy based on a few statistics is an equally bad idea.
Statistics tend to imply a solution, too.
The equivalent of 300 Jumbo Jets full of people die every year due to hunger. Statistics like this often lead the layperson to false conclusions. They're also misleading since the number of people who fly is only a fraction of the world's population. If people took heed to this issue, then I wouldn't take issue. But they don't.