60,000 individuals are behind bars for marijuana offenses at a cost to taxpayers of $1.2 billion per year.
REFERENCE: Marijuana Arrests and Incarceration in the United States. 1999. The Federation of American Scientists' Drug Policy Analysis Bulletin.
Taxpayers annually spend between $7.5 billion and $10 billion arresting and prosecuting individuals for marijuana violations. Almost 90 percent of these arrests are for marijuana possession only.
REFERENCE: NORML. 1997. Still Crazy After All These Years: Marijuana Prohibition 1937-1997: A report prepared by the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) on the occasion of the Sixtieth anniversary of the adoption of the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937. Washington, DC; Federal Bureau of Investigation's combined Uniform Crime Reports: Crime in the United States (1990-2000): Table: Arrest for Drug Abuse Violations. U.S. Department of Justice: Washington, DC.
2007-03-12 14:47:55 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
Almost 5 million Americans have been arrested for marijuana since 1992. That's more than the entire populations of Alaska, Delaware, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, Washington DC and Wyoming combined.
REFERENCE. Federal Bureau of Investigation. Uniform Crime Reports: Crime in the United States (1993-2000). Table: Arrest for Drug Abuse Violations. U.S. Department of Justice: Washington, DC.
2007-03-12 14:48:47 · update #1
Unquestionably, yes, however you must also factor in the lost revenue to law enforcement and the federal bureaucracy. The "war" on marijuana is big business.
I think that it should at least be legalized for medical purposes. When one looks at the history of the 1937 Marihuana Tax Act, one can only come to the conclusion that the rationale for making it illegal in the first place was a fraud on the American people.
In fairness, though, I do have one minor quibble with outright legalization for all purposes. Once we do that, there will be no way to keep it out of the hands of big business. Especially the cigarette industry. If we don't have a problem with it now, those b@stards will likely make it a problem.
If I could think of a way around that, I'd support legalization unreservedly because trying to enforce this "prohibition" is an utter waste of time and rescources and is doomed to fail.
It amounts to a "war" on the American people by their own government.
2007-03-12 14:57:46 · answer #1 · answered by neoimperialistxxi 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
it doesn't matter if it will or not. the law is immoral as the government does not have the right to tell me whether I should smoke pot as long as it's not in any setting where I could hurt other people (e.g., operating machinery, driving, etc).
one is under no actual obligation to follow such a law. enforcement of this law is an assault on individual liberty and is based on irrational myths about pot, puritan morality, and a media-system that heightens the sense of danger about the drug since corporations do not profit off of it as they do with other more dangerous drugs (nicotine, alcohol, etc).
The law ought not to exist regardless of its economic impact. by restating a fundamental moral issue in economic terms one might mislead as to the real nature of the issue.
2007-03-12 21:59:22 · answer #2 · answered by Kos Kesh 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I think it's ridiculous to keep wasting police resources on marijuana offenders. We could use those $10 billion a year in our education system. Isn't anyone out there scared of how stupid our kids are?..........
2007-03-12 21:55:46 · answer #3 · answered by ? 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You do not have to prove it logical... because small towns and lawyers make a large portion of their money from this industry......
they will defend it until the end,,,,,,,
Of course it is the smart thing to do..... we already went through this with prohibition,,, but we are selfish and stupid americans,,,,
most of us,,,,,,anyway,,,,,
2007-03-12 21:52:27 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It would, but I don't want to be driving with pot-smokers on the road along with all the other substance abusers.
2007-03-12 21:57:15 · answer #5 · answered by J W 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Prohibition of alcohol did not work, and so by popular vote, prohibition of cannabis will not either
2007-03-12 21:56:27 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
No, it would allow anti-social behavior that leads to other bad and illegal behaviors.
2007-03-12 21:58:13 · answer #7 · answered by Chainsaw 6 · 0⤊ 3⤋
No, it would not.
2007-03-12 21:55:08 · answer #8 · answered by Hauntedfox 5 · 0⤊ 3⤋