News
Legal marijuana use begins Dec. 6
A new law legalizing recreational marijuana use goes into effect next week in Washington state. The Dec. 6 effective date for Washington’s measure will be followed within weeks by a similar provision in Colorado, although both state measures are in violation of federal law, according to CBS News.
Voters in both states approved the new laws overwhelmingly on Election Day, casting about three million votes to legalize recreational marijuana. The Colorado initiative, Amendment 64, received more votes on Nov. 6 than President Obama, who carried the state.
But marijuana use is still against federal law. Federal officials have not indicated how they will respond to the new state rules, other than to point out that they violate the federal Controlled Substances Act.
In the meantime, officials in Washington and Colorado are working to implement the new state laws. Washington’s law allows anyone over the age of 21 to possess up to an ounce of marijuana. The state Liquor Control Board has until next December to draft rules to tax and regulate marijuana retailers.
Colorado governor John Hickenlooper has until Jan. 5 to sign a proclamation making Amendment 64 part of the state constitution. The measure allows adults in the state to possess up to an ounce of marijuana and up to six plants. The state legislature, Department of Revenue and other agencies have about a year to prepare regulations for marijuana sales.
The federal government could put a stop to it all, for example by filing suit against the states or threatening to withhold funding to state and local law enforcement agencies. But the feds could take a more hands-off approach, as they have done so far with the 18 states that have legalized medical marijuana use.
The conflict will likely get even more complicated next year. Both Rhode Island and Maine will have marijuana legalization on their 2013 ballots.
The following from the on
The following from the on line report:
” Drug War Facts for
the Drug Truth Network on 12-19-11. http://www.drugtruth.net/cms/node/3677”
data from
#1 is “Prisoners in 2004,” from the Bureau of Justice Statistics,
and
#2 “Drug Use and Dependence, State and Federal Prisoners, 2004,” again from the Bureau of Justice
Percent of federal prisoners held for drug law violations in 2004 = 55%
Percent of state prisoners held for drug law violations in 2004 = 21%
Marijuana/hashish, Percent of federal drug offenders, 2004 = 12.4%
Marijuana/hashish, Percent of state drug offenders, 2004 = 12.7%
Now, do the math,
Multiply total prisoners times the percent of prisoners held for drug law violations. Then multiply this product times the percentage of marijuana offenders. The result is:
Federal marijuana prisoners, 2004 = 11,630
State marijuana prisoners, 2004 = 33,186
Total federal and state marijuana prisoners in 2004 = 44,816
Thus, those in prison for marijuana offenses represent about 12.6% of those incarcerated for drug law violations and 3.2% of total state and federal prisoners. It should be noted that these numbers exclude those among the 700,000+ inmates who may be in local jail because of a marijuana arrest.
These facts and others like them can be found in the Prisons and Drugs Chapter of Drug War Facts at http://www.drugwarfacts.org.
So if acc. to US Justice Dept it costs ~$23,000 a year to house a prisoner it costs 1.03 Billion to keep ’em off the street