Marijuana Prohibition Facts

[Psycho4Bud]

Very few Americans had even heard about marijuana when it was first federally prohibited in 1937. Today, between 95 and 100 million Americans admit to having tried it, and about 14.5 million say they use it at least monthly. 1,2

According to government-funded researchers, high school seniors consistently report that marijuana is easily available, despite decades of a nationwide drug war. With little variation, every year about 85% consider marijuana â??fairly easyâ?� or â??very easyâ?� to obtain. 3 Data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that more U.S. high school students currently smoke marijuana, which is completely unregulated, than smoke cigarettes, which are sold by regulated businesses. 4

There have been over seven million marijuana arrests in the United States since 1995, including 771,984 arrests in 2004â??more than for all violent crimes combined, and an all-time record. One person is arrested for marijuana every 41 seconds. About 89% of all marijuana arrests are for possessionâ??not manufacture or distribution. 5

Every comprehensive, objective government commission that has examined the marijuana phenomenon throughout the past 100 years has recommended that adults should not be criminalized for using marijuana. 6

Cultivation of even one marijuana plant is a federal felony.
Lengthy mandatory minimum sentences apply to myriad offenses. For example, a person must serve a five-year mandatory minimum sentence if federally convicted of cultivating 100 marijuana plantsâ??including seedlings or bug-infested, sickly plants. This is longer than the average sentences for auto theft and manslaughter! 7

A one-year minimum prison sentence is mandated for â??distributingâ?� or â??manufacturingâ?� controlled substances within 1,000 feet of any school, university, or playground. Most areas in a city fall within these â??drug-free zones.â?� An adult who lives three blocks from a university is subject to a one-year mandatory minimum sentence for selling an ounce of marijuana to another adultâ??or even growing one marijuana plant in his or her basement. 8
While exact figures are unavailable, conservative estimates indicate that between 32,500 and 40,000 Americans are in prison or jail on marijuana charges right nowâ??more than the entire prison populations of eight individual European Union countries combined. 9

A recent study of prisons in four Midwestern states found that approximately one in ten male inmates reported that they had been raped while in prison. 10 Rates of rape and sexual assault against women prisoners, who are most likely to be abused by male staff members, have been reported to be as high as 27 percent in some institutions. 11

Civil forfeiture laws allow police to seize the money and property of suspected marijuana offendersâ??charges need not even be filed. The claim is against the property, not the defendant. The owner must then prove that the property is â??innocent.â?� Enforcement abuses stemming from forfeiture laws abound. 12
According to estimates by Harvard University economist Jeffrey Miron, replacing marijuana prohibition with a system of taxation and regulation would save between $10 billion and $14 billion per year in reduced government spending and increased tax revenues. 13

Many patients and their doctors find marijuana a useful medicine as part of the treatment for AIDS, cancer, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, and other ailments. Yet the federal government allows only seven patients in the United States to use marijuana as a medicine, through a program now closed to new applicants. Federal laws treat all other patients currently using medical marijuana as criminals. Doctors are presently allowed to prescribe cocaine and morphineâ??but not marijuana. 14,15

Organizations that have endorsed medical access to marijuana include: the AIDS Action Council, American Academy of Family Physicians, American Public Health Association, American Academy of HIV Medicine, American Nurses Association, Lymphoma Foundation of America, National Association of People With AIDS, the state medical associations of New York, California, and Rhode Island, and many others.

A few of the many editorial boards that have endorsed medical access to marijuana include: Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, Miami Herald, New York Times, Orange County Register, USA Today, Baltimoreâ??s Sun, and The Los Angeles Times.

Since 1996, a majority of voters in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Maine, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington state have voted in favor of ballot initiatives to remove criminal penalties for seriously ill people who grow or possess medical marijuana.
Fifty-five percent of Americans believe possession of small amounts of marijuana should not be treated as a criminal offense. Seventy-eight percent support â??making marijuana legally available for doctors to prescribe in order to reduce pain and suffering.â?� 16

â??Decriminalizationâ?� involves the removal of criminal penalties for possession of marijuana for personal use. Small fines may be issued (somewhat similarly to traffic tickets), but there is typically no arrest, incarceration, or criminal record. Marijuana is presently decriminalized in 11 statesâ??California, Colorado, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, and Oregon. In these states, cultivation and distribution remain criminal offenses.

Decriminalization saves a tremendous amount in enforcement costs. California saves $100 million per year. 17

A 2001 National Research Council study sponsored by the U.S. government found â??little apparent relationship between the severity of sanctions prescribed for drug use and prevalence or frequency of use, and ... perceived legal risk explains very little in the variance of individual drug use.â?� The primary evidence cited came from comparisons between states that have and have not decriminalized marijuana. 18

In the Netherlands, where adult possession and purchase of small amounts of marijuana are allowed under a regulated system, the rate of marijuana use by teenagers is far lower than in the U.S. 3,19 Under a regulated system, licensed merchants have an incentive to check ID and avoid selling to minors. Such a system also separates marijuana from the trade in hard drugs such as cocaine and heroin.

â??Zero toleranceâ?� policies against â??drugged drivingâ?� can result in â??DUIâ?� convictions of drivers who are not intoxicated at all. Trace amounts of THC metabolitesâ??detected by commonly used testsâ??can linger in blood and urine for weeks after any psychoactive effects have worn off. This is equivalent to convicting someone of â??drunk drivingâ?� weeks after he or she drank one beer. 20

The arbitrary criminalization of tens of millions of Americans who consume marijuana results in a large-scale lack of respect for the law and the entire criminal justice system. Marijuana prohibition subjects users to added health hazards:


Adulterants, contaminants, and impuritiesâ??Marijuana purchased through criminal markets is not subject to the same quality control standards as are legal consumer goods. Illicit marijuana may be adulterated with much more damaging substances; contaminated with pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers; and/or infected with molds, fungi, or bacteria.

Inhalation of hot smokeâ??One well-established hazard of marijuana consumption is the fact that smoke from burning plant material is bad for the respiratory system. Laws that prohibit the sale or possession of paraphernalia make it difficult to obtain and use devices such as vaporizers, which can reduce these risks. 21

Because vigorous enforcement of the marijuana laws forces the toughest, most dangerous criminals to take over marijuana trafficking, prohibition links marijuana sales to violence, predatory crime, and terrorism.

Prohibition invites corruption within the criminal justice system by giving officials easy, tempting opportunities to accept bribes, steal and sell marijuana, and plant evidence on innocent people.

Because marijuana is typically used in private, trampling the Bill of Rights is a routine part of marijuana law enforcementâ??e.g., use of drug dogs, urine tests, phone taps, government informants, curbside garbage searches, military helicopters, and infrared heat detectors.
http://www.mpp.org/prohfact.html

Psycho4Bud Reviewed by Psycho4Bud on 04-11-2006. Marijuana Prohibition Facts Very few Americans had even heard about marijuana when it was first federally prohibited in 1937. Today, between 95 and 100 million Americans admit to having tried it, and about 14.5 million say they use it at least monthly. 1,2 According to government-funded researchers, high school seniors consistently report that marijuana is easily available, despite decades of a nationwide drug war. With little variation, every year about 85% consider marijuana â??fairly easyâ?� or â??very easyâ?� to Rating: 5

[Euphoric]

Cannabis Chronology

[Myth1184]

Medical Marijuana is a scam, on a global level.

If you wana get high, thats fine by me, but please, dont try to say its a "medical drug, when test after test after test show it does nothing. Hell, people are offered the Pill that does the same thing as what pot does (lowers nausea), but they dont want it, WHY, because it doesnt get them high.

[Psycho4Bud]

Medical Marijuana is a scam, on a global level.

If you wana get high, thats fine by me, but please, dont try to say its a "medical drug, when test after test after test show it does nothing. Hell, people are offered the Pill that does the same thing as what pot does (lowers nausea), but they dont want it, WHY, because it doesnt get them high.

Marinol isn't really handed out unless the patient is considered terminal in general. My ex-wife had a pain condition and because of the amount of meds she had to take her stomach was basically rotted. The only time she could handle eating is after tokin' up a little. We asked for marinol but was refused because she wasn't a cancer or AIDs patient.

[Sinsemilla Jones]

Medical Marijuana is a scam, on a global level.

If you wana get high, thats fine by me, but please, dont try to say its a "medical drug, when test after test after test show it does nothing. Hell, people are offered the Pill that does the same thing as what pot does (lowers nausea), but they dont want it, WHY, because it doesnt get them high.

How about a LINK instead of an OPINION, Myth?
:thumbsup:

Why don't you save your mindless bullshit for the Politics board?


You and tadaa can go form your own little club.
:dance::dance:
You can call it the DEA.

[Psycho4Bud]

How about a LINK instead of an OPINION, Myth?
:thumbsup:

Why don't you save your mindless bullshit for the Politics board?


You and tadaa can go form your own little club.
:dance::dance:
You can call it the DEA.

Settle down big guy....you'll be sharing another kiss!..LOL...j/k

Have a good one dude!:thumbsup:

[Shelbay]

Marinol isn't really handed out unless the patient is considered terminal in general. My ex-wife had a pain condition and because of the amount of meds she had to take her stomach was basically rotted. The only time she could handle eating is after tokin' up a little. We asked for marinol but was refused because she wasn't a cancer or AIDs patient.

I was given a presription years ago for Marinol...I have a "weak" stomach..also from chemo and radiation..anyways..I didn't even get the prescription filled because he didn't tell me what it was for! I remember the way he looked at me when he was talking to me that day but I don't recall him saying anything about it being for nausea...I thought it was another pain medication....I know,I know....stupid...but I know now...but have been in remission for almost 5 years now..really healthy except I have to eat the same foods most of the time...we need to move to a state that it is legal..seriously.

[Great Spirit]

Medical Marijuana is a scam, on a global level.

If you wana get high, thats fine by me, but please, dont try to say its a "medical drug, when test after test after test show it does nothing. Hell, people are offered the Pill that does the same thing as what pot does (lowers nausea), but they dont want it, WHY, because it doesnt get them high.

Marijuana is probably the greatest medicine known to man that exists on this EArth!! The government..especially the pharmecutical industry does not want you to grow your own medicine.

You do greatly err.

[mont974x4]

yep, marijuana can be great medicine for a myriad of things. I qualify for severe muscle spasms, migraines, fribromayalgia, and chronic and severe pain from a severe form of arthritis. Anyways, from my own studying marinol is not as effective and at $1000 a month way to spendy. I already take Enbrel injections 2 times a week, which is about $1800 a month. Thank God for good insurance.

[Freshy]

Medical Marijuana is a scam, on a global level.

If you wana get high, thats fine by me, but please, dont try to say its a "medical drug, when test after test after test show it does nothing. Hell, people are offered the Pill that does the same thing as what pot does (lowers nausea), but they dont want it, WHY, because it doesnt get them high.

dang, not another tadaa. check out some of Sinsemilla's links. i'd like to see some stats or something about people refusing the pill. one of the medical benefits marijuana doesn't have is a 70% chance to save your life from nerve gas (search for dexanabinol). another benefit it doesn't have is stimulating recovery from brain trauma better than placebo (also dexanabinol).

looking at the tadaa thread, there is a 75% chance he won't accept that he is wrong. maybe he is more mature...

prohibition is the gateway drug.