The Facts

THE FACTS ON MARIJUANA

  • Marijuana was made illegal in 1937; congress debated the Marijuana Tax Act for under one hour; “experts” testified that marijuana was “fatal”, caused sexual depravity and violence.  This law remains the legal foundation for marijuana prohibition.[1]
     
  • Despite more than 60 years of prohibition, Marijuana remains the 3rd most popular recreational drug of choice in the US. 70 million Americans have tried marijuana at some point in their lives.  At least 34 percent of voting Americans had tried Marijuana once. [2]
     
  • In the first 3 years of the Clinton administration, 1.5 million Americans were arrested for marijuana; 84% of these arrests, or 1.34 million, were for simple possession. [3]  
     
  • William Foster, an Oklahoma man, in 1997, was sentenced to 93 years in jail for possession of 10 medium sized marijuana plants and 56 clones.[4]
     
  • Those who have been convicted of marijuana possession are denied access to Federal entitlements, while those paroled from murder, robbery, and rape offenses remain eligible for these same entitlements.
     
  • Cost of incarceration to the American taxpayer is $23000 per incarcerated person per year.[5]
     
  • Marijuana prohibition costs taxpayers between 7.5 and 10 billion dollars, in law enforcement alone.  That’s enough money to send 1 million students annually to a Public University.[6]

    • References:

    [1]U.S. Congress, House, Ways and Means Committee, Taxation of Marihuana, Hearings on H.R. 6385, 75th Cong., 1st sess., April 27, 1937, statement of Clinton Hester.

    [2]American Civil Liberties Union, National Surevy of Voters' Opinions on the Use and Legalization of Marijuana for Medical Purposes (Washington, DC: March 31, 1995 - April 5, 1995).

    [3]Federal Bureau of Investigation Uniform Crime Reports, Crime in the United States (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1992-1996).

    [4]Adam Smith, "Pot of Trouble," Reason Magazine, May 1997, pp. 47-48.

    [5] Steven R. Donziger, ed., The Real War on Crime: The Report of the National Criminal Justice Commission (New York City: HarperPerennial, 1996).

    [6] Federal Bureau of Investigation Uniform Crime Reports, Crime in the United States: 1995 (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1996).