Subj: US: Press Release: Marijuana Offenders Crowding Nation's Prisons and Jails



Source: Marijuana Policy Project, US



Date: June 16, 1999



 

 New Research Published by Federation of American Scientists Finds

 Marijuana Offenders Crowding Nation's Prisons and Jails

 

 Nearly 60,000 Presently Incarcerated; 700,000 More Arrested Each Year

 

 WASHINGTON, D.C. - Nearly 60,000 marijuana offenders are incarcerated in

 the United States at any given time, according to a study published

 today in the Federation of American Scientists' (FAS's) "Drug Policy

 Analysis Bulletin." More than a quarter of marijuana offenders are

 incarcerated for personal possession, with no other drugs involved in

 the offense.

 

 The total cost to taxpayers of marijuana-related incarceration exceeds

 $1.2 billion per year, according to the study. "The latest figures cast

 serious doubt on the argument that marijuana incarceration costs are low

 enough to be ignored," the study concluded.

 

 The study, "Marijuana Arrests and Incarceration in the United States,"

 was undertaken by MPP Director of Communications Chuck Thomas for the

 FAS journal. Based on raw data recently obtained from the federal Bureau

 of Justice Statistics, the estimated number of incarcerated marijuana

 offenders is probably the most precise figure ever calculated.

 

 "It is a travesty of justice that more than 15,000 marijuana users --

 not dealers or crack smokers, but marijuana users -- are presently

 locked in cages with violent criminals," said Thomas. "And many of the

 other 45,000 marijuana offenders currently incarcerated are serving time

 simply for growing a few plants for personal use or selling a small

 amount of marijuana to a friend."

 

 The study also found that there were more than 700,000 marijuana arrests

 in the United States in 1997, according to the most recent data

 available from the FBI. Shockingly, 87% of those were for personal

 possession of marijuana, rather than sale or manufacture.

 

 "Think of all the money that is wasted hunting down marijuana users that

 could have been better spent building schools or apprehending violent

 criminals," said Thomas.

 

 According to the new study:

 

 	* At any one time, 59,300 prisoners charged with or convicted of

 violating marijuana laws are behind bars. (Because many serve less than

 a year, the total number who pass through the prison system each year,

 while difficult to estimate, is even greater.)

 

 	* Of the people incarcerated in federal and state prisons and in local

 jails, 37,500 were charged with marijuana offenses only, and an

 additional 21,800 were charged with both marijuana offenses and other

 controlled substances offenses.

 

 	* Of the marijuana-only offenders, 15,400 are incarcerated for

 possession, not trafficking.

 

 "Drug Czar Barry McCaffrey and other drug warriors argue that people do

 not really get arrested or incarcerated for minor marijuana offenses,"

 Thomas said. "This study proves them wrong. The drug war is very much

 about sending small-time, non-violent marijuana offenders to jail."

 

     Marijuana Policy Project (MPP)

     P.O. Box 77492

     Capitol Hill

     Washington, D.C. 20013

 

     http://www.mpp.org/membrshp.html

     202-232-0442   FAX