Marijuana Becomes Focus of Drug War
Less Emphasis on Heroin and Cocaine
By Dan Eggen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, May 4, 2005; Page A01
Washington PostThe focus of the drug war in the United States has shifted significantly over the past decade from hard drugs to marijuana, which now accounts for nearly half of all drug arrests nationwide, according to an analysis of federal crime statistics released yesterday.
The study of FBI data by a Washington-based think tank, the Sentencing Project, found that the proportion of heroin and cocaine cases plummeted from 55 percent of all drug arrests in 1992 to less than 30 percent 10 years later. During the same period, marijuana arrests rose from 28 percent of the total to 45 percent.
Coming in the wake of the focus on crack cocaine in the late 1980s, the increasing emphasis on marijuana enforcement was accompanied by a dramatic rise in overall drug arrests, from fewer than 1.1 million in 1990 to more than 1.5 million a decade later. Eighty percent of that increase came from marijuana arrests, the study found.
The rapid increase has not had a significant impact on prisons, however, because just 6 percent of the arrests resulted in felony convictions, the study found. The most widely quoted household survey on the topic has shown relatively little change in the overall rate of marijuana use over the same time period, experts said.
What a buzz kill!
it could be that many people don't think they can get into any trouble with weed. they try to liken it to tobacco so they are very open with it. anytime there is an outside festival you smell weed. you don't see people doing lines in the beer line though.
I think it's more about law enforcement, over time, missing the purpose of the Drug War, which began (supposedly, anyway) as a way to crack down on large scale smugglers and kingpins. Now it's just something they check for when they pull you over, like a broken tail light.
it's as simple as not doing doing it...
weed is the stuff
And?it's as simple as not doing doing it...
It's also as simple as being a stupid thing for law enforcement to concern themselves with.
Man, Clandestino has not one problem with the government. Brainwashed would be an understatement.
You are such a good boy Clandestino.
The "War on Drugs" is as much of a waste of money and humanity as is the "War on Poverty." They're both black holes designed to redistribute money -- funnelled through the federal government -- into whatever pet project Congress wants.
Don't blame law enforcement (hence the term "enforcement"), blame the law makers.
Now, having said that, I do think drugs -- all drugs, from caffeine to alcohol to nicotine to weed and heroin, crack and ecstacy -- are bad for you. Period. Further, I believe any thinking person would know that. I also believe that people who voluntarily use any drug should accept the likely consequences of their use or, in the case of abuse, their abuse.
Alcohol users, for example, -- and nobody else, including those who serve the substance to a user -- should be held accountable and responsible for the death and destruction they wreak on society in the form of vehicle accidents, barroom shootouts, lost wages, repossessions. And, I'm sorry, people who abuse and people who tolerate an alcohol abuser get no compassion from me when, after ignoring the problem for years, they start losing their homes, cars, and kids because the user has become an abuser and started spending the rent money on Schlitz Malt Liquor.
Whenever I see the sad sack stories of spouses enduring "years" of alcohol abuse on the part of their significant other, I don't think, "poor, poor pitiful husband/wife;" I think...what an idiot.
Same goes for gamblers, cigarette smokers, other drug addicts, etc...
I'm all for the government getting out of the drug enforcement and morality business...but, at the same time, let's hold the abusers of all kind accountable and responsible for the consequences of their actions.
Quit funding rehab. Make them ineligible for medicare or medicaid. Don't spend another tax dollar on the consequences and then, I say -- yeah! Enough of the War on Drugs...
There was a time, in this country, when people were not allowed to sue the deepest pockets for their own mistakes. There was a time, in this country when silly product warnings, such as "Don't use in the bathtub" on electric appliances, weren't needed. There was a time when a criminal couldn't sue your ass for breaking his arm trying to open your gun cabinet. And, there was a time when parents held their own children accountable for their bad behavior instead of blaming it on someone or something else...yes, the days before Ritalin.
In my day........thanks I forgot how good it was back in the day....wow I forgot how there was no violence, repression and instability in the world....man I must be kidding myself.....now I do agree the "War on Drugs" is BS, I say legalize it all and tax the crap out of it...no more organized crime, since you can buy it in 7-Eleven....but alas our society is built on fear and the proliferation of fear as a product.
do the crime, pay the time.
nah, i have many problems, just not the ones you guys bring up and cry about all the time...
Do you participate in NCAA March Madness pools?do the crime, pay the time.
What if there was a government crackdown on these pools and cops started showing up at ever office and school arresting anyone with a bracket?
It's only illegal if the house takes a cut.
Are you sure? Every year around that time articles come out talking about how it's illegal, and I've never seen mention of offices taking cuts... I (and they) could be wrong, though.
Here's an article.
http://www.detnews.com/2004/business.../a01-91166.htm
Employees who organize office pools where money changes hands also could face punishment, dismissal or even legal trouble for engaging in an illegal act. This sort of wagering is against the law in Michigan and every other state except Nevada.
the resurrected one has never broken anylaw domestic or foreign
if his government makes it, then bygolly he'll obey it, its his duty as a conservative american to obey without question, only a vacation hating liberal would question our government
i dont think thats a screen name either, i think he really is jesus
Nope. I haven't consciously, intentionally broken the law since my misspent youth.
And, when I have been caught, I accepted responsibility for my actions.
But, you were right in one respect, I believe every American has a duty to obey the law of the land until they have, through legislation or popular civil disobedience, effected either a change, rescinsion, or non-enforcement posture from authorities.
Americans have the equal responsibility to accept the consequences of violating the law.
so when there is a orange terror alert and you can be arrested for setting one foot outside your house without authorization, your toilets overflowed and youve got to take a leak really bad, what would you do?
Texas Penal Code:
§ 47.02. Gambling
(a) A person commits an offense if he:
(1) makes a bet on the partial or final result of a game or contest or on the performance of a participant in a game or contest;
(2) makes a bet on the result of any political nomination, appointment, or election or on the degree of success of any nominee, appointee, or candidate; or
(3) plays and bets for money or other thing of value at any game played with cards, dice, balls, or any other gambling device.
(b) It is a defense to prosecution under this section that:
(1) the actor engaged in gambling in a private place; << Most homes and businesses are private unless it is a government office so, don't do at your government job or on the courthouse steps.
(2) no person received any economic benefit other than personal winnings; and << The part about the House taking a cut.
(3) except for the advantage of skill or luck, the risks of losing and the chances of winning were the same for all participants. << No cheating.
(c) It is a defense to prosecution under this section that the actor reasonably believed that the conduct:
(1) was permitted under Chapter 2001, Occupations Code;
(2) was permitted under Chapter 2002, Occupations Code;
(3) consisted entirely of participation in the state lottery authorized by the State Lottery Act (Chapter 466, Government Code);
(4) was permitted under the Texas Racing Act (Article 179e, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes); or
(5) consisted entirely of participation in a drawing for the opportunity to participate in a hunting, fishing, or other recreational event conducted by the Parks and Wildlife Department.
(d) An offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor.
(e) It is a defense to prosecution under this section that a person played for something of value other than money using an electronic, electromechanical, or mechanical contrivance excluded from the definition of "gambling device" under Section 47.01(4)(B).
Pee in the sink then fix the toilet. Why? What would you do?
Haven't we been to Orange? Funny, I don't recall any official edict barring me from leaving my home...
Please, do tell.
Interesting.
well whatever the highest one is, we've never been there
either red or orange
I see...
So, at Orange, we're automatically under "house arrest" and require government permission to go outside and shut the sprinklers off?
Please, do cite the relevant legal support for your assertion.
Well, make up that steel trap mind of your's, you legal expert...because, I found this.
Threat Level Raised
Funny, I don't remember the agents standing outside my door making sure I didn't pee in the bushes...
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