What fraction of federal prisoners are convicted of drug offenses?

• A. Nearly half
• B. One quarter
• C. Two thirds
• D. One third

Answer: (A)

Drug offenses make up a large share of the federal prison population, so the best description is that about half of federal prisoners are convicted of drug offenses. In reality, numbers hover around the mid-40s to near-50%, depending on the year, which is why “nearly half” is the closest approximation. The other options would understate or overstate the share (a quarter or one third are clearly too low, while two thirds is too high).