I suppose it's no surprise that people too lazy to use a search engine would also avoid putting in the effort to click through to the results, when it's so, so much easy just to reach for the downmod arrow. Sigh...

This from the ACLU article:

"In 1998, people convicted of drug offenses constituted almost one-fourth of state prison inmates and over half of the inmates in federal prison. While African Americans reportedly make up 13% of the nation's drug users, they are almost 60% of those in state prisons for drug felonies. "

And this the VERY OPENING of the Atlantic article:

"Correctional officials see danger in prison overcrowding. Others see opportunity. The nearly two million Americans behind bars—the majority of them nonviolent offenders—mean jobs for depressed regions and windfalls for profiteers"

Lmgtfy is kind of snarky, which is why I suspect you're getting downmodded.

Anyways, what exactly are you inferring from this? That those who commit drug felonies are not violent offenders? Even if that were true, your "citations" still don't support the assertion of the gp that "Most people are in prison for pot-smoking and non-violent offenses".

Assertion: "Most people are in prison for pot-smoking and non-violent offenses".

"Most - non-violent offenses".

Quotation: the majority of them nonviolent offenders

majority - nonviolent offenders

I don't know how else to spell it out.

Well, it is an article by a journalist. While I tend to believe this statement I would want to see some hard numbers before committing myself to things like policy decisions (or even going to some sort of protests).