I had mentioned to Randy in a previous post (Nobo's Supreme Court post)that I thought MJ represented a large number of the total drug arrests in our country (usa)... I feel that our govt will continue to persecute ALL MJ users. The current case before the SC is nothing more than a dog and pony show that demonstrates a false sense of democracy. I'm pissed off because Our law enforcement community is spending billions of dollars for the latest technologies in surveillance, firearms, and training only to go after average citizens like you and me... I salute all who stand up to our govt to relax medical mj laws, but until we pressure the fda into allowing a proper scientific study on the effects of mj, and pressure the dea to de-classify mj as a class 1 narcotic, we will forever be on the losing side... I hope you all check out the article- I snipped it from HT mag.
Bah Humbug, RacerX
Marijuana Arrests For Year 2003 Hit Record High FBI Report Reveals Pot Smokers Arrested In America At A Rate Of One Every 42 Seconds 2004-10-25
October 25, 2004
Washington, DC: Police arrested an estimated 755,187 persons for marijuana violations in 2003, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's annual Uniform Crime Report, released today. The total is the highest ever recorded by the FBI, and comprised 45 percent 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), who noted that at current rates, a marijuana smoker is arrested every 42 seconds in America. "This effort is a tremendous waste of criminal justice resources, costing American taxpayers approximately $7.6 billion dollars annually. These dollars would be better served combating serious and violent crime, including the war on terrorism."
Of those charged with marijuana violations, 88 percent - some 662,886 Americans - were charged with possession only. The remaining 92,301 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. In past years, approximately 30 percent of those arrested were age 19 or younger.
"Present policies have done little if anything to decrease marijuana's availability or dissuade youth from trying it," Stroup said, noting that a majority of young people now report that they have easier access to pot than alcohol or tobacco.
The total number of marijuana arrests for 2003 far exceeded the total number of arrests for all violent crimes combined, including murder, manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault.
Marijuana arrests for 2003 increased 8 percent from the previous year, and have nearly doubled since 1993.
"Arresting adults who smoke marijuana responsibly needlessly destroys the lives of tens of thousands of otherwise law abiding citizens each year," Stroup said.
In the past decade, more than 6.5 million Americans have been arrested on marijuana charges, more than the entire populations of Alaska, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming combined. Nearly 90 percent of these total arrests were for simple possession, not cultivation or sale. During much of this time, arrests for cocaine and heroin have declined sharply, indicating that increased enforcement of marijuana laws is being achieved at the expense of enforcing laws against the possession and trafficking of more dangerous drugs.
"Marijuana legalization would remove this behemoth financial burden from the criminal justice system, freeing up criminal justice resources to target other more serious crimes, and allowing law enforcement to focus on the highest echelons of hard-drug trafficking enterprises rather than on minor marijuana offenders who present no threat to public safety," Stroup said.
Later this fall, the NORML Foundation will be releasing a comprehensive report examining the nature, extent and costs of marijuana arrests in the United States. The report will feature state-by-state analysis of marijuana arrests by race, as well as an economic and geographic analysis of US marijuana arrests. Further information on NORML's forthcoming report is available by contacting the NORML Foundation at: media@norml.org.
For more information, please contact Keith Stroup or Paul Armentano of NORML at (202) 483-5500.
NORML Foundation 1600 K Street, N.W. Suite 501 Washington, DC 20006 202-483-5500 (p) 202-483-0057 (f) http://www.norml.org foundation@norml.org
nobogart
The total number of marijuana arrests for 2003 far exceeded the total number of arrests for all violent crimes combined, including murder, manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault.
That pretty much sums it up seems to me they have their priorities all wrong.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.
T. Jefferson
The War goes on.
Randy
(Edited by Randy High at 1:14 am on Dec. 23, 2004)
outdoor grower
ive already decided if it gets any worse in the states, Viva La Canada.
slohand
outdoor g man you hit the nail right on the head bro!!! the thought of moving even to windsor and sitting there with a big fattie and watching our poor country just self implode and not be part of the carnage is sounding more and more attractive everyday,!so lets all grab up some clothes and all of our smoke and get the fuck off this sinking ship and get to windsor get high and go play with some boobies at studio 4, WHOOPEE!!!!
Randy High
Hey Slo and OG.
Hope yer holidays wer great.
I guess I feel the same way but after a bit of a vacation I'm ready to fight them now.
Randy
Budweiser 3
i'm with randy on this oneits my LIFE and i'll doo what i want with itwhere ever i'm atFUCK-IT! ..hell it wouldnt be half as much fun if it was leagle Bud3
Lil Toker
I think this is a GREAT thread
Made me go and do a little research of my own.. I cant seem to find anything all that up to date just yet. But I'll continue to do some reading.
I knew it was coming down to a point where a lot of Americans were really considering the move here... To Canada.
I deeply feel for each and everyone of ya's.
Marijuana - By the Numbers
1.3 billion The number of dollars Canada spends per year in marijuana-related police and prosecution costs.
1.5 million The number of people who smoke pot recreationally in Canada -- which is approximately five per cent of the total population (Source: The Canadian Medical Association)
20.4 million The number of people in North America who used cannabis at some point in the late 1990s, representing about 6.6% of the general population.
600,000 The number of Canadians who have criminal records for possession of marijuana.
21,000 The number of people charged with simple possession of cannabis in Canada in 1999. That's 11% more than in 1995.
75 The percentage of all drug-related offences in Canada in 2001 that involved cannabis.
30 The number of grams of cannabis need to roll at least 30 joints.
3.5% The percentage of the world's population who reported using cannabis in the late 1990s.
Those numbers are pretty interesting Lil... I'd be curious to find out how much is spent on treatment & prevention both here and Canada. I'll look a bit later when I get a chance.
While I still think our solution lies in applying pressure on the fda to de-classify mj from a Class 1 felony, I found a very interesting article concerning a unique individual & his crusade for de-criminalization. I won't cut and paste the entire article, yet I'd ask each of you (that read this post)to read the last paragraph of the article (that is cut and pasted) to see if this may interest you.
“That's the whole notion behind Change the Climate-in order for there to be legislative change, politicians need to feel comfortable voting for change, instead of being chickenshit. If our advertising gets people talking more, politicians will feel more comfortable voting, or even advocating, for change. The climate around marijuana needs to change. We need to de-demonize it. We're looking at the preconditions for change, not at the change itself, because we need a broader discussion before there can be any legislative change. Asking for money to knock on more politicians' doors isn't going to initiate change.”
Note: Fresh off a Masterfully Played Rout of the T, Change the Climate's Joe White is Continuing to Change the Way Joe Sixpack Thinks About Weed Reform in America.
Complete Title: These Laws Are So Fucking Stupid
Source: Boston Weekly Dig (MA) Author: Paul McMorrow Published: January 05, 2005 Copyright: 2005 Boston Weekly Dig
I found the site because of a post I read earlier today contained a link to another article (too stoned to remember who, dooh!)... I'd like to thank whoever posted the original article that led me to this site.... A plethora of good articles to check out.
