A low-level drug offense is a simple drug-related crime, such as possession of drugs or paraphernalia. The violations are typically tied to personal drug use and aren’t considered violent or sales related. Despite it being a minor offense, it makes up a vast portion of the U.S. prison population. An estimated 300,000 people are currently sitting in a prison cell for drug-related crimes in the country. Even worse, they’re spending more time in prison than in the past. Low-level offenders have also been exposed to lengthy prison stays due to sentencing laws. The laws were designed to take down high-level offenders like importers and drug traffickers, but these individuals make up only 11 percent of the country’s drug offenders.