A Pennsylvania legislator introduced a bill Monday that would give medical marijuana patients a chance of expunging a conviction of marijuana possession if the charge resulted from their use of cannabis for medical purposes. The bill is sponsored by State Sen. Daylin Leach (D-Montgomery), and does not have any support yet from Republicans who control the legislature. To be expunged, patients would have to prove they had a doctor's diagnosis for one of the 21 approved serious health conditions at the time of the conviction. The patient would also have to provide evidence they were using cannabis to treat the condition. [continues 106 words]
When the state Senate in New Mexico this week considered a measure that would have asked voters whether to legalize marijuana, the debate inevitably became as much about Colorado as the lawmakers' home state. When making his case against the measure, Sen. William Sharer, a Republican from Farmington, pointed to Denver, where he said crime has increased since retail marijuana stores opened in the city in 2014. The measure ultimately failed, 24-17. Marijuana policy experts and Colorado officials urge caution when trying to grade legalization's impacts - which are the subject of debate all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court, where this week justices are scheduled to discuss a lawsuit over pot filed against Colorado by two neighboring states. But there is one thing that legalization supporters, opponents and neutrals within Colorado agree on: It's unlikely marijuana has much to do with Denver's recent uptick in crime, as Sharer suggested it did. [continues 406 words]
A week ago Friday, lawyers for Richard Kirk, a Denver man who is charged with the murder of his wife after eating a cannabis edible during a domestic disturbance in April 2014, changed his original plea from not guilty to not guilty by reason of insanity. The pot made him do it. Had he not ingested a marijuana edible, he wouldn't have murdered his wife, Kristine, who was on the phone with 911 when she was shot. It's a horrible story. Police reports indicate that the incident took place at home while their three sons were present. According to a police affidavit for a search warrant, Richard Kirk bought a Bubba Kush joint and a 100-milligram piece of Karma Kandy Orange Ginger taffy at a store on South Colorado Boulevard. He apparently ate some or all of the candy, came home, began arguing with his wife and acting irrationally, cutting his legs on broken glass, before unlocking the gun safe and shooting his wife in the head. [continues 602 words]
It should be no surprise that the working group tasked with coming up with a recommendation to the legislature about how cannabis edibles should be marked ended after four sessions and no consensus. The working group came about because of House Bill 1366, which directs the State Licensing Authority to develop recommendations for better ways to clearly mark edibles as cannabis products by 2016. Rep. Jonathan Singer, a member of the working group, put it succinctly: He wants to distinguish a marijuana edible just as he can a regular candy bar. [continues 848 words]
Crunching the Numbers in Marijuana's March to Legalization Let's play a little numbers game today. This is not the kind of numbers they played in an illegal lottery that flourished for decades before states started taking over the gambling business. Back in the 1940s, my uncle was a numbers runner who walked down alleys collecting nickel and dime bets in an illegal lottery that flourished for decades in poor neighborhoods. He couldn't write down the numbers that people wagered on because that was evidence if the police caught him. He had to memorize each number, who bet it, and the amount wagered. It was a tricky and intricate situation where a good memory came in handy. [continues 1225 words]
On Nov. 4, Alaskans will make a decision on Ballot Measure 2: whether to legalize the use of marijuana. As we make this decision, it is important we base it on complete information rather than the propaganda that is being slung. We have the benefit of not being the first state to wrestle with this issue. All we need to do is look as far as Colorado and Washington to truly understand the effects of legalizing marijuana. So what are we hearing coming out of Colorado? The legalization and commercialization of marijuana in Colorado started less than two years ago, and there are several problems, consequences and new financial repercussions associated with the law. They are reporting increased marijuana-related emergency room visits, increased hash oil explosions, increased marijuana-involved auto fatalities, and an increased number of workers testing positive for marijuana. [continues 797 words]
On Nov. 4, Alaskans will make a decision on Ballot Measure 2, whether or not to legalize the use of marijuana. As we make this decision, it is important we base it on complete information rather than the propaganda currently being slung. We have the benefit of not being the first state to wrestle with this issue. All we need to do is look as far as Colorado and Washington to truly understand the effects of legalizing marijuana. So what are we hearing coming out of Colorado? The legalization and commercialization of marijuana in Colorado started less than two years ago, and there are a number of problems, consequences, and new financial repercussions associated with the law. They are reporting increased marijuana-related emergency room visits, increased hash oil explosions, increased marijuana-involved auto fatalities, and an increased number of workers testing positive for marijuana. [continues 806 words]
Maryland is a state with a serious marijuana arrest problem, according to the FBI's 2011 annual Uniform Crime Report. With 22,043 arrests for marijuana possession producing an arrest rate of 378 people per 100,000, Maryland ranked among the top five in marijuana possession arrests, according to the most recent data available. "I have no idea why these numbers are so high," said state Sen. Bobby Zirkin, Baltimore County Democrat who is an advocate for marijuana decriminalization in Maryland. "The numbers are shocking and staggering." [continues 505 words]
Will pot soon be legal in Kansas? Fire It Up Kansas, a non-violent nonprofit organization, sure hopes so. According to the group's Facebook page, it only has one purpose: to "legalize marijuana on a state and federal level for the purpose of medicine, production and recreation." To further its efforts, the organization is planning to use a billboard campaign to promote the legalization of marijuana in the state. Co-founder and president of Fire It Up Kansas, Mike Golden, said that the intent is for the legalization of marijuana to be seen as a legal market instead of a black market. [continues 795 words]
BALTIMORE - Ninety years ago, brewing, transporting and selling alcohol were all federal crimes. The prohibition of alcohol was repealed in 1933 because it supported large criminal organizations through the inflated prices of unregulated, illegal booze and because it disproportionately harmed the lower and middle classes. Today we still have prohibition, its largest benefactors are still international criminal gangs, and its victims are still mostly the poor and middle-class. The prohibition of narcotics - including marijuana, cocaine, heroin, LSD, and MDMA - has the same problems that alcohol prohibition did in its time, and then some. International drug traffickers reap huge profits and middle-and lower-class Americans pay the costly price of outdated drug policies. [continues 620 words]
FBI data: American police made a total of 12,196,959 arrests last year Tens of thousands of people smoked marijuana and listened to live music at the Denver 420 rally at Civic Center Park on April 20, 2013. Despite lax enforcement in some areas, the pace of U.S. pot busts remained unchanged from 2011 to 2012. Residents of two states voted to legalize marijuana in 2012, but despite an increase in public support for liberalizing drug policy, American police arrested about the same number of people last year on pot-related charges as in 2011. [continues 485 words]
NEW YORK - Danielle Bradford was raised in state custody because of her parent's abuse and drug dependencies. When she was 18 she moved out, found work at a local waffle shop and got her first apartment in Nashville, Tenn. Her estranged father helped by co-signing on the lease. One evening she was at home with her neighbors when three police officers knocked on the door. They said they had received a report that there was a portable meth lab on her property. "I allowed them to look, and obviously they did not find anything," she said. What the police did find was that her neighbor had some marijuana and a bowl that she had prepared for him. [continues 4844 words]
Over the past year, Howard Wooldridge's job has gotten easier. The former Lansing area police officer spent the past 16 years working to decriminalize marijuana and other drugs, at times taking his horse on long rides around the country to publicize the cause. A lobbyist for Citizens Opposing Prohibition, an organization he formed, Wooldridge rubs elbows with congressional aides, trying to get them to convince their bosses to end a drug war that costs the country $82 billion a year. [continues 1610 words]
Cotter Says Medical Marijuana Is Too Easy to Get Over the past year, Howard Wooldridge's job has gotten easier. The former Lansing area police officer spent the past 16 years working to decriminalize marijuana and other drugs, at times taking his horse on long rides around the country to publicize the cause. A lobbyist for Citizens Opposing Prohibition, an organization he formed, Wooldridge rubs elbows with congressional aides, trying to get them to convince their bosses to end a drug war that costs the country $82 billion a year. It's been a long haul for Wooldridge and at times the lack of progress weighed heavily. [continues 1593 words]
Kudos to Kingsley Guy for acknowledging that it is "time to rethink" America's war on drugs (Jan.13), and for recognizing that a majority of the public now favors regulating marijuana consumption by adults. The modern drugwar is fueled by the criminalization of marijuana. Police made 757,969 arrests in 2011 for marijuana-related offenses, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's annual Uniform Crime Report. Nearly nine out of 10 of those arrested were charged with violating marijuana possession laws-not for growing, trafficking, or selling cannabis. According to the report, marijuana arrests now comprise one-half of all illicit drug arrests in theUnited States. [continues 137 words]
Voters in Washington and Colorado Say No to the Long, Costly War on Pot Last month, the Federal Bureau of Investigation released its accounting of all arrests made by law enforcement agencies across the fruited plain. Cops and federal agents made 12,408,899 arrests in the USA in 2011. No wonder we're known around the world as Incarceration Nation. Let's walk through the breakdown of that big number: *Of the total, 534,704 arrests were for violent crimes, and that number was down about 5 percent from 2010. [continues 790 words]
The legalization of medical cannabis symbolizes more than just a large group of people several thousand in the Commonwealth gaining access to the only drug that adequately treats their illness without the fear of prosecution looming over their shoulders. The passage of ballot question 3, Massachusetts becoming the 18th state to legalize medical cannabis would represent yet another notch in the exposure of cannabis' Schedule 1 classification by the federal government as empirically illegitimate. That said, this week's release of the FBI's Uniform Crime Report comes at an opportune time to support the case for medical cannabis. In a climate of over 750,000 arrests being made yearly in this nation in the past decade, roughly 40 percent of which being issued for mere possession, as said report reflects, the notion of legally allowing possession for medical purposes is hardly radical, and refreshingly compassionate. To all those who favor truth over fear, progress over regression, compassion over condemnation, I urge you to vote yes on ballot question 3 this Tuesday. Randolph [end]
The legalization of medical cannabis symbolizes more than just a large group of people - several thousand in the commonwealth - gaining access to the only drug that adequately treats their illness without the fear of prosecution looming over their shoulders. The passage of ballot Question 3, Massachusetts becoming the 18th state to legalize medical cannabis would represent yet another notch in the exposure of cannabis' Schedule 1 classification by the federal government as empirically illegitimate. That said, this week's release of the FBI's Uniform Crime Report comes at an opportune time to support the case for medical cannabis. In a climate of more than 750,000 arrests being made yearly in this nation in the past decade, roughly 40 percent of which being issued for mere possession, as said report reflects, the notion of legally allowing possession for medical purposes is hardly radical, and refreshingly compassionate. To all those who favor truth over fear, progress over regression, compassion over condemnation, I urge you to vote yes on ballot Question 3 Tuesday. Justin Matheus Randolph [end]
On Monday, the California State Conference of the NAACP announced its "unconditional endorsement" of a November initiative that would legalize the recreational use of marijuana. On Tuesday, the NAACP said why. According to a just-released study by the Drug Policy Alliance, blacks are far more likely to be arrested for pot possession than whites - even though statistically, blacks use marijuana at lower rates than whites. The Alliance, a national advocacy group, favors treatment rather than arrest or imprisonment for people suffering from drug dependency. [continues 907 words]
MISSION - Police Chief Leo Longoria said his city and the surrounding area has experienced a "bleed-over of violence" coming from Mexico. His community remains secure, he said, but he still would welcome National Guard troops to the city, as Gov. Rick Perry has requested from the federal government for communities along the border. Above all, Longoria said residents should remain vigilant and aware of their surroundings. "I don't believe we have a uncontrollable spillover," he said. "What we have is a bleed-over of violence." [continues 696 words]
Editor's note: The writer of this column wishes not to be named, as expressing one's personal beliefs against government policy can severely hinder a future career with many government agencies. The "War on Drugs" was born under the Nixon administration in 1969. It truly took off during Reagan and Bush (Sr.). Since then this campaign has seen about as much success as the United States' War on Terror. The government has been successful in: spending billions upon billions of tax dollars, incarcerating non-violent offenders and perhaps one of the greatest heists in history. The War on Drugs has been a gift that keeps on giving to those who control it and manipulate it for their own purposes. For the less advantaged it can be viewed as an attack on the people, creating and sustaining a new lower class. [continues 865 words]
Prohibition of any kind doesn't work, and that is because prohibition is a regulation of morality. It isn't finding justice, saving money or even keeping people from hurting themselves. Prohibition is the censorship of morality and any government body cannot be successful in that pursuit. The Temperance Movement was a religious movement to drive out the evils of America. At the time that evil was alcohol -- people weren't just opposed to alcohol but also to apples -- which were almost exclusively grown to make alcohol. [continues 1073 words]
On Tuesday, members of the state Assembly will vote on California marijuana policy. The Public Safety Committee will vote on Assembly Bill 390, the Marijuana Control, Regulation and Education Act, which seeks to regulate and control the production, distribution, and personal use of marijuana for adults age 21 and older. Tuesday's vote will mark the first time since 1913, when California became one of the first states in the nation to impose criminal cannabis prohibition, that lawmakers have reassessed this failed policy. [continues 289 words]
For more than 70 years, now otherwise law-abiding and productive members of society have been punished and turned into criminals for possessing a plant that is as natural as the air we breathe. With the government's multi-billion dollar anti-pot propaganda machine, they have convinced a majority of Americans that cannabis is an evil plant that is dangerous to our society. Most people don't realize that humans have an 8,500-year relationship with marijuana dating back to our earliest civilizations. People have used cannabis for ropes, clothing, oils, food, medicine and for recreational purposes. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson both grew cannabis in early America and encouraged every one to do so. [continues 283 words]
To many, releasing tens of thousands of inmates from California prisons might seem a radical solution to ease the serious overcrowding and dangerous conditions that have plagued the prisons for years, but a special panel of federal judges ordered the state to do just that. The judges said that no other solution will improve the poor conditions that have regularly led to inmate suicides and death from lack of proper care. The order to release prisoners comes as California struggles with a multibillion-dollar deficit that has forced the state to furlough employees, has forced courtroom closures one day a month and has caused drastic cuts in services across the board. [continues 604 words]
If the editors at The Patriot Ledger truly believe that "to guide drug policy, you must take ownership of it," (Our Opinion: "Legislature wise to address legalization of marijuana," Oct. 20), then they should be advocating in support of legalizing and regulating marijuana - not opining against it. Only through state government regulation will we be able to bring necessary controls to the marijuana market. By enacting state and local legislation on the use, production and distribution of marijuana, state and local governments can effectively impose controls regarding: [continues 267 words]
This year is a watershed year in pot politics. The Obama administration recently announced it would defer to state medical marijuana laws and stop federal prosecutions of patients and providers who comply with them. In California, the tanking economy inspired Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to call for debating marijuana taxation and regulation, a bill was introduced in Sacramento to do just that, and four separate ballot initiatives are circulating to allow voters the chance to decide the issue for themselves. Schwarzenegger's position was echoed by New York Gov. David Paterson and by Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard, who suggested legalizing pot could cripple Mexican and U.S. gangs. The unprecedented momentum to question marijuana prohibition is being fueled by a widely remarked-upon phenomenon -- the cultural mainstreaming of marijuana. [continues 652 words]
The following is the testimony NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano will deliver on Oct. 28 to the California Assembly Public Safety Committee's special hearing on "the legalization of marijuana: social, fiscal and legal implications for California." Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, sponsor of AB 390, The Marijuana Control, Regulation and Education Act, is the chairman of the committee. By any objective standard, marijuana prohibition is an abject failure. Nationwide, U.S. law enforcement have arrested over 20 million American citizens for marijuana offenses since 1965, yet today marijuana is more prevalent than ever before, adolescents have easier access to marijuana than ever before, the drug is more potent than ever before, and there is more violence associated with the illegal marijuana trade than ever before. [continues 583 words]
Attack Considered City's Worst Multiple Shooting The brutality of a massacre at Juarez drug rehabilitation center in which 18 people were killed shocked a city already plagued with record-breaking violence. A motive for the attack was under investigation, but it appeared to be linked to feuding drug trafficking groups. Chihuahua state public safety secretary Victor Valencia said such drug centers are sometimes fronts for criminal gangs and one narcotics expert said the slayings are unlikely make much of a difference in the overall balance of power in the drug war. [continues 822 words]
In June, an estimated 25,000 people attended the inaugural THC Expo hemp and art show in downtown Los Angeles, an event that pumped hundreds of thousands of dollars into the local economy — including a $22,400 payment directly to the city of Los Angeles for use of its convention center. Barneys New York in Beverly Hills is celebrating the Woodstock spirit by selling $78 "Hashish" candles in Jonathan Adler pots with bas-relief marijuana leaves; Hickey offers $75 linen pocket squares or $120 custom polo shirts bearing the five-part leaf; and French designer Lucien Pellat-Finet is serving up white-gold and diamond custom pot-leaf-emblazoned wristwatches for $49,000 and belt buckles for $56,000. [continues 1081 words]
Marijuana is moving into the mainstream, with fashion, films, TV and politicians acknowledging it's here to stay. In June, an estimated 25,000 people attended the inaugural THC Expo hemp and art show in downtown Los Angeles, an event that pumped hundreds of thousands of dollars into the local economy -- including a $22,400 payment directly to the city of Los Angeles for use of its convention center. Barneys New York in Beverly Hills is celebrating the Woodstock spirit by selling $78 "Hashish" candles in Jonathan Adler pots with bas-relief marijuana leaves; Hickey offers $75 linen pocket squares or $120 custom polo shirts bearing the five-part leaf; and French designer Lucien Pellat-Finet is serving up white-gold and diamond custom pot-leaf-emblazoned wristwatches for $49,000 and belt buckles for $56,000. [continues 2043 words]
Oakland attracted national attention last week with the country's first voter-approved medical marijuana business tax -- a 15-fold increase that won easy victory in a special election Tuesday. Some supporters -- including some operators of the dispensaries that will be taxed -- see the measure as a step toward legalizing marijuana. Cities with dispensaries are eyeing the move as a way to fill empty municipal coffers in the wake of crushing local and state budget deficits, and to standardize their approach to medical marijuana outlets. [continues 769 words]
This Is the First Story in a Series of Ongoing Articles Exploring Various Aspects of Illegal Drugs and Their Use in the United States. Marijuana has been a part of the American culture for most of the 20th century, although depending on your point of view, that may or may not be a good thing. For the first time in recent history, the public is having a mainstream and open debate about marijuana and possible changes in laws that constrict its use. In New York, decriminalization of possession was recently embraced by lawmakers and a medical marijuana bill is currently on the table as well. [continues 1323 words]
Let me clear the air on why marijuana should be legalized. First of all, let's get things straight: I do not smoke pot. I have smoked pot before but can count the number of times on one hand and haven't touched it in more than five years. But I will argue into the ground why those who like to partake in a little bit of the puff-puff should be able to do so legally. The recent media frenzy over that "scandalous" picture of Michael Phelps smoking the reefer is a prime example of the need to make it legal. Come on, people, the man won eight gold medals and broke world records in swimming. I'd say he's entitled to a toke or two. [continues 439 words]
He Can End the Prohibition Era on Marijuana As FDR Did in 1933, Obama Must Now Help End an Utterly Failed, Socially Destructive, Reactionary Crusade Against Marijuana. The parallels between the 1933 coming of Franklin D. Roosevelt and the upcoming inauguration of Barack Obama must include the issue of Prohibition: alcohol in 1933, and marijuana today. As FDR did back then, Obama must now help end an utterly failed, socially destructive, reactionary crusade. Marijuana prohibition is a core cause of many of the nation's economic problems. It costs the United States tens of billions per year to track, arrest, try, defend and imprison marijuana consumers, who pose little, if any, harm to society. The social toll soars even higher when we account for social violence, lost work, ruined careers and damaged families. In 2007, 775,137 people were arrested in the United States for mere possession of this ancient crop, according to the FBI's uniform crime report. [continues 785 words]
The parallels between the 1933 coming of Franklin Roosevelt and the upcoming inauguration of Barack Obama must include the issue of Prohibition: alcohol in 1933, and marijuana today. As FDR did back then, Obama must now help end an utterly failed, socially destructive, reactionary crusade. Marijuana prohibition is a core cause of the nation's economic problems. It now costs the U.S. more than tens of billions per year to track, arrest, try, defend and imprison marijuana consumers who pose little harm to society. The social toll soars even higher when we account for social violence, lost work, ruined careers and damaged families. In 2007, 775,137 people were arrested in the U.S. for mere possession of this ancient crop, according to the FBI's uniform crime report. [continues 843 words]
SERIES NOTE: This is the second installment in a two-day series examining the growing problem of heroin abuse across McHenry County. Fatal drug overdoses continue to creep across the nation, more often in suburban America than many think. In McHenry County, heroin-related deaths have nearly tripled in the past year - from six in 2007 to at least 16 in 2008. And because heroin metabolizes quickly in the blood, there might be more deaths caused than are reported. A decade of county death records reveals only one other year with double-digit cases. That was in 2003, when 10 people died from heroin overdoses. [continues 1242 words]
Tough legislation regarding cold medications might cause annoyance at the pharmacy, but in the trenches of Illinois' fight against crime, many credit it with lowering that state's overall criminal activity in 2007. In November, the Illinois State Police announced the state's overall crime rate fell by 3.6 percent in 2007, with reports of homicide and motor vehicle theft realizing the biggest decreases. Law enforcement agencies throughout the state reported a total of 456,085 indexed crimes in 2007, compared to 470,730 in 2006, according to the ISP's Uniform Crime Report. [continues 795 words]
Cannabis Arrests Now Comprise Nearly 47.5 Percent of All Drug Arrests in the United States, 89% of Them for Mere Possession. If denial is the first sign of addiction, then Drug Czar John Walters is hooked to the gills. He's addicted to targeting and arresting marijuana consumers, and he'll do and say anything to keep this irrational and punitive policy in place. Speaking earlier this month on C-Span, the reigning Czar stretched his usual deceit to outrageous new heights. Responding to a question from the Marijuana Policy Project's Dan Bernath, Walters flatly denied the charge that over 800,000 Americans are arrested annually for violating pot laws. [continues 590 words]
Of all the presidential contenders, Barack Obama has been the most forthcoming about his past drug use. In his autobiography, he admits to having smoked marijuana, using some cocaine, briefly flirting with the idea of trying heroin (although he never used any) and imbibing a fair amount of alcohol when he was in high school and college. Quizzed about his past drug use, he confessed to having inhaled the marijuana smoke, unlike Bill Clinton, who when faced with a similar question years ago, claimed that while he had smoked marijuana, he didn't inhale. [continues 810 words]
Operation Our Town has added a powerful tool to aid in the war against drugs in Blair County. The business-led partnership with the community has initiated a partnership with state police to reduce illegal drug use and related crime in the area. "This is something very unique in Pennsylvania. This is one of the first partnerships with business and community the state police have entered into," said Michael Fiore of L.S. Fiore, one of the founders of Operation Our Town. "The state police have been working with us; this partnership will enhance the state police operation throughout the county." [continues 398 words]
New York - Of all the presidential contenders, Barack Obama has been the most forthcoming about his past drug use. In his biography, he admits to having smoked marijuana, using some cocaine, briefly flirting with the idea of trying heroin (although he never used any) and imbibing a fair amount of alcohol when he was in high school and college. Quizzed about his past drug use, he confessed to having inhaled the marijuana smoke, unlike Bill Clinton, who when faced with a similar question years ago, claimed that while he had smoked marijuana, he didn't inhale. [continues 809 words]
On Jan. 31, we were shocked at the news of a horrific knife assault on a Massena man. The alleged assailant was on probation for other violent assaults when he committed another crime so heinous it chills the body and mind. With the increase of law-enforcement personnel in Northern New York one would think violent criminals would be removed from our streets for a very long time or permanently. The FBI Uniform Crime Report of September 2007 gives insight as to where the focus of law-enforcement actually is. [continues 125 words]
The experience of Brett and Keri Johnson, former Gull Lake teachers recently convicted of having a small marijuana garden in their basement, is a sad one for them. When multiplied by 800,000, it becomes a tragedy for the rest of us. The FBI's 2006 Uniform Crime Report pegged marijuana arrests for 2006 at 829,625. More than 90 percent of those arrests were for simple possession or small-scale, personal-use cultivation. Prior to arrest, hundreds of thousands of people, like the Johnsons, were tax-paying, otherwise law-abiding, contributing community members. Following arrest, they became tainted for life with the scarlet letter labeling them a drug criminal. For a substance that's safer than tobacco, alcohol or caffeine. Common aspirin kills 1,000 yearly. Marijuana kills zero. [continues 226 words]
ALMOST HALF of American adults have tried marijuana, and the number of people who use it regularly has increased to about 15 million. This expanding use of marijuana can no longer be dismissed as simply a youthful fad that can be eliminated through the war on drugs. Still, marijuana arrests account for nearly 44 percent of all drug arrests in the United States. According to the Uniform Crime Report, nearly 830,000 people were arrested in 2006 on marijuana charges, nearly a 15 percent increase over 2005. Nine out of 10 were arrested for mere possession. [continues 575 words]
Want to see something really scary this Halloween? Then check out the alarming rise of cannabis-related arrests in the U.S. in the chart below. YIKES!! It's a very simple proposition. Police have limited budgets, manpower, and resources. If they place a high priority on the arrest and prosecution of non-violent cannabis users, they simply can't address other areas of real concern, including predatory and violent crimes. Every minute spent arresting a cannabis user is a minute that law enforcement can't use to address rape, assault, break-ins, and domestic violence. Sadly, a marijuana consumer is arrested every 38 seconds in America. [continues 377 words]
Federal drug policies are hindering students' chances of receiving financial aid, which is raising questions from state legislators and students as to why these policies still exist. According to the FBI's Uniform Crime Report, 829,625 people were arrested for marijuana violations in 2006. Out of those people, 89 percent were charged with marijuana possession only. Meanwhile, NORML.org says 18-24 year-olds comprised about 40 percent of all drug arrests in 2002. The majority of people who are convicted of a marijuana violation are charged with one of the lesser offenses, and a large percentage of those convicted fall into the college age group. [continues 412 words]
One of the favorite pastimes of the American government is to wage a righteous, divine and equally idiotic war on drugs. The government loves it so much that they have an entire agency devoted to it - the DEA - and countless other organizations that jump in for fun. The reality of the situation is that this so called "war" on drugs - though in fact a war - is not against substances, but the poor and economically-disadvantaged of our society. There is a massive dose of paranoia in American culture about drugs. Sure they are bad and destroy lives, but hey, so do cars. If there is really going to be this much effort put forth this much effort to combat an epidemic that as we can all see is sweeping across the American landscape like a wildfire, then there should be full cavity searches every time someone enters a public building and submission to daily blood and urine tests. [continues 613 words]
What would cops do without weed? For one thing, they'd sure spend a lot less time arresting and processing petty pot violators. How much time? For starters, however long it took to bust the estimated 739,000 Americans arrested for minor pot possession in 2006. That's according to the FBI's Uniform Crime Report, which reported last week that a record 829,625 Americans were arrested for violating marijuana laws last year. Of those arrested, 89 percent of those were charged with simple pot possession -- the highest annual total ever recorded and nearly three times the number of citizens busted 15 years ago. [continues 475 words]
