Marijuana Laws: The Past, Present & Future

MARIJUANA LAW The past, present, and future LEGALITY OF MARIJUANA IN THE U.S. S State with legalized cannabis State with both medical and decriminalization laws A State with legal medical cannabis State with decriminalized cannabis possession laws State with total cannabis prohibition TIMELINE OF MARIJUANA LAW IN THE U.S. (FROM PROHIBITION TO CURRENT DAY) A pamphlet by the U.S. Department of The Marijuana Tax Act aims to curb the Agriculture calls cannabis a "poison," considerably limiting its medical use. trafficking of marijuana by placing a heavy tax on the sale of cannabis. 1905 1937 The Controlled Substances Act categorizes marijuana as a Schedule I drug, a class of Congress passes another major piece of federal narcotics legislation, the Boggs Act, which sets drugs considered to have the highest potential of abuse and no recognizable medical use. mandatory minimum sentences for all drug 1951 violations. 1970 President Nixon declares "a war on drugs", a campaign of prohibition of drugs and military interventions that stretched across four decades and wasted an estimated $1 trillion. 1971 Oregon becomes the first state to The National Commission on marijuana reduce penalties for the possession of and Drug Abuse (Shafer Commission) 1972 small quantities of marijuana. proposes the legalization of small quantities of marijuana for personal use. 1973 The Anti-Drug Abuse Act requires stringent penalties for all drug dealers (third-time offenders are California voters pass "Proposition sentenced to life in prison without parole). It also establishes the Office of National Drug Control Policy, 215," making medical marijuana legal throughout the country. 1988 whose first director, William J. Bennett, became TlT| known as the "drug czar." 1996 Colorado and Washington legalize the The Supreme Court upholds the power of the federal government to continue to enforce sale and possession of small quantities of marijuana for recreational use. anti-marijuana laws and prosecute even 2005 citizens who use it in accordance with state-level medical marijuana regulations. 2012 The Justice Department declares it will not interfere to block laws legalizing medical marijuana in 20 states and the District of Columbia, an event hailed as "the beginning of the end of marijuana prohibition." 2013 HARSHEST SENTENCES X 2 life without parole for possession and intent of selling marijuana 66-year-old Larry Duke, a decorated Vietnam combat veteran, has so far served 24 years of two life without parole sentences for possession and intent to supply marijuana. X 12 years for selling a $31 bag of marijuana Oklahoma mother Patricia Spottedcrow was sentenced to 12 years in 2010 for selling a $31 bag of marijuana to an undercover informant. After a wave of publicity and an appeal, her sentence was eventually reduced, and in 2012 she was released after serving two years of the sentence. Not everyone is as 'lucky. There are currently at least: federal inmates currently serving life 14 without possibility of parole for non-violent marijuana offenses federal inmates serving de facto life sentences for non-violent marijuana offences offenders convicted in state jurisdictions and given sentences of life without 4 possibility of parole for non-violent marijuana offences THE COST OF PROHIBITION NUMBER OF ARRESTS FOR DRUG ABUSE VIOLATION IN 2011: Total number of arrests for drug abuse in 2011 43% Numbers of arrests for possesion of marijuana 6% Numbers of arrests for sale/manufacturing of marijuana $3.6 billion 1 million hours $15 billion Imprisonment cost of marijuana offenders to American taxpayers Estimated cost of Estimated time spent by the NYPD prosecuting low-level marijuana crimes between 2002 and 2012 enforcing marijuana law in 2010 RACIAL INEQUALITY 32% 26% 23% Black Americans and Hispanics comprise 58 percent of the marijuana offenders sentenced under federal law, despite making up just 20 percent of the marijuana smokers in the United States. Black Americans are nearly 4 times as likely to be arrested as white Vs Americans for possession and use of marijuana. MARIJUANA IN THE USA - CURRENT TRENDS WHAT ARE AMERICANS' ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE USE OF MARIJUANA? 48% 48% have tried marijuana at least once in their lifetime 14% 14% are regular users of recreational marijuana 0,77% 0.77% (2.41 million) are regular users of medical marijuana 86% 86% support the legalization of marijuana for medicinal purposes 58% think marijuana should be 58% made legal for all purposes THE FUTURE OF MARIJUANA LAW We do not have to look too far back in time for At the moment, the drug is still illegal under federal law, but will precedent. It was less than 100 years ago that a drug that currently contributes to the deaths of an estimated 80,000+ Americans per year was the current trend of relaxation continue until federal prohibition is prohibited by the Government and then distributed and sold illegally until that repealed? prohibition was eventually repealed. In another 100 years' time, will we look back on prohibition of marijuana in the USA the same way that we now look at prohibition of alcohol? TIME WILL TELL SOURCES Wikipedia.org Aclu.org FBI Fbi.gov NORML Norml.org NEWS OF THE WEEK medicalmarijuana.procon.org Lifeforpot.org Mic Mic.com huffingtonpost.com GALLUP Gallup.com people-press.org cbsnews.com latinpost.com TheLawOffice of Kimberly Diego http://www.diegocriminaldefense.com/ DENVER CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYER