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Marijuana and the US Prison Industry

I am a NC state employed college teacher and, unlike some, I completely understand that state employees will have to endure pay cuts and job loss as a result of the economy. What does bother me, is that our governor has allocated 10 million dollars to fund FOUR NEW PRISONS!!!

The graph below shows the federal prison population from 1914-2010. Note the stability prior to prohibition of alcohol, followed by a spike. The stats level out again when prohibition was repealed. In 1984, the Reagans got serious about the "war on drugs' and look at that sick, ever climbing, self perpetuating spike that follows.

This next graph shows US prisoners by offense. About half of the drug offenders are there for marijuana related offenses.

The next few graphs show the incredible bigotry towards black citizens inherent to the US legal system. Note the bizarre difference between the racial make up in prisons and the general population.

Here's who is using the drugs:

Here is who is selling the drugs:

This last one shows NEW PRISONS in the US:

NEW%20PRISONS.docx

Ok, that one was a bust. The graphs come from an excellent site called "The November Coalition": http://www.november.org/graphs/

The US has more of it's citizens behind bars than any other country in the world. 92% are non-violent offenders:

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Permalink Reply by John D on February 25, 2011 at 11:17am

Pop should be legal... just like alcohol. It should be controlled and taxed just like alcohol. I do have one question. Of all the drug convictions, how many are for pot? Not so many I think.

I think Americans really like their drugs. Maybe we should decriminalize everything from coke to LSD. Hmmmmm. It could work perhaps. The Netherlands is pretty open to this sort of thing.

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Permalink Reply by Edward Teach on February 25, 2011 at 11:49am

Actually, the data I got indicated 50% of drug offenses were for pot. I'll see if I can dig up the research ;-)

We know from alcohol prohibition, that the social ills of the substance (in the case of alcohol, domestic violence, health issues, addiction) will go up when legalized... But crime should drop dramatically. Also, the social ills of marijuana seem to be milder than those of alcohol.

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Permalink Reply by John D on February 25, 2011 at 12:59pm

Yes - agreed. More people did start drinking alcohol when prohibition was lifted. Why can't we silly humans just have fewer vices???? :^)

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Permalink Reply by Edward Teach on February 25, 2011 at 1:31pm

True that. Gimme my Diet Mountain Dew... Zero nutritional benefits... but it tastes damn good ;-)

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Permalink Reply by Edward Teach on March 2, 2011 at 8:14am

I looked and looked and can't find the data seperating folks in prison for marijuana charges from other drug offenses. NORML posted the stat that half of all arrests in the US are marijuana related, but no data on how many end up in prison. I'm guessing if it were an impressive number someone would post it!

Here is the NORML stuff:

http://www.skeptically.org/recdrugs/id8.html

Washington, DC: Police arrested an estimated 723,627 persons for marijuana violations in 2001, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's annual Uniform Crime Report, released today. The total is the second highest ever recorded by the FBI, and comprises nearly half of all drug arrests in the United States.

"These numbers belie the myth that police do not target and arrest minor marijuana offenders," said Keith Stroup, Executive Director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML). "In fact, the war on drugs is largely a war on pot smokers. This effort is a tremendous waste of criminal justice resources that should be dedicated toward combating serious and violent crime, including the war on terrorism."

Of those charged with marijuana violations, 88.6 percent - some 641,108 Americans - were charged with possession only. The remaining 82,518 individuals were charged with "sale/manufacture," a category that includes all cultivation offenses - even those where the marijuana was being grown for personal or medical use.

The total number of marijuana arrests far exceeds the total number of arrests for all violent crimes combined, including murder, manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault.

Since 1992, approximately six million Americans have been arrested on marijuana charges, a greater number than the entire populations of Alaska, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming combined. Annual marijuana arrests have more than doubled in that time.

"It's time we stopped arresting adults who use marijuana responsibly," says Stroup.

YEAR                       MARIJUANA ARRESTS

2001                    723,627
2000                    734,498
1999                    704,812
1998                    682,885
1997                    695,200
1996                    641,642
1995                    588,963
1994                    499,122
1993                    380,689
1992                    342,314

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Permalink Reply by Edward Teach on March 2, 2011 at 8:23am

Spoke too soon. Here is the low down:

http://www.alternet.org/rights/47815

According to the new BJS report, "Drug Use and Dependence, State and Federal Prisoners, 2004," 12.7 percent of state inmates and 12.4 percent of federal inmates incarcerated for drug violations are serving time for marijuana offenses. Combining these percentages with separate U.S. Department of Justice statistics on the total number of state and federal drug prisoners suggests that there are now about 33,655 state inmates and 10,785 federal inmates behind bars for marijuana offenses. The report failed to include estimates on the percentage of inmates incarcerated in county and/or local jails for pot-related offenses.