Pubdate: Sat, 30 Jul 2005
Source: Chicago Sun-Times (IL)
Copyright: 2005 The Sun-Times Co.
Contact:  http://www.suntimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/81
Author: Ronald Fraser
Note: Ronald Fraser writes on public policy issues for the DKT Liberty
Project, a Washington-based civil liberties organization.
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)

WHY FEDS SHOULD TAKE OVER U.S. MARIJUANA SALES

Illinoisans spend about $207 million each year to enforce state and
local marijuana laws. What are these taxpayers getting for their
money? Not much, according to a recent study.

Jon B. Gettman, a senior fellow at George Mason University's School of
Public Policy, prepared the study, ''Crimes of Indiscretion: Marijuana
Arrests in the United States,'' for the National Organization for the
Reform of Marijuana Laws.

''Marijuana arrests,'' says Gettman, ''are instruments of a
supply-reduction policy.'' But, he adds, ''The doubling of marijuana
arrests in the 1990s has produced the opposite of the intended effect
in every major indicator. An increase in arrests should produce a
reduction in use and the availability of marijuana. However, during
the 1990s both use and availability of marijuana increased.''

Marijuana possession arrests in the United States totaled 260,000 in
1990. By 2003 that figure topped 662,000.

Even failed public policies, however, can cost a bundle.

Illinoisans are, in effect, paying for Washington's marijuana
prohibition policies. ''The use of criminal law to control the
availability and use of marijuana,'' says Gettman, ''is a federal
policy that is dependent on local law enforcement for its
implementation.'' And state and local costs quickly add up.

Boston University economics Professor Jeffrey A. Miron estimates that
nationally, state and local officials spend about $5 billion per year
enforcing marijuana laws. Illinois' share of this multibillion handout
to Uncle Sam looks like this: $84 million for police services; $105
for judicial services, and $18 million for correctional services.

The thousands of people arrested on marijuana possession charges in
Illinois each year -- especially teenagers -- pay extra. ''Marijuana
arrests make criminals out of otherwise law-abiding citizens,''
Gettman says. ''Indeed, the primary consequence of marijuana arrests
is the introduction of hundreds of thousands of young people into the
criminal justice system.''

Once a teenager has a criminal record, other penalties often follow.
In Illinois, for example, employers can ask job applicants about
arrests leading to a conviction, and a criminal record may bar a
person from public housing.

Taking a close look at marijuana patterns, Gettman notes that young
people are disproportionately targeted. Nationally, almost 17 percent
of all persons arrested for possession of marijuana were between 15
and 17 years old. Another 26 percent were ages 18 to 20.

And what do Illinoisans get for these financial and personal costs?
Even though state data is not available, it is safe to say that
thousands of marijuana possession arrests were made in Illinois each
year. But the number of users keeps going up. While 4.8 percent of
Illinois' population was estimated to be monthly users in 1999, in
2002 the estimate stood at 5.5 percent.

Nationally, monthly users went from 4.9 percent in 1999 to 6.2 percent
in 2002.

The basic problem, says Gettman, is that, ''The overall supply of
marijuana in the United States is far too diversified to be controlled
by law enforcement.''

If the current marijuana policies are both costly and ineffective,
what is the next best strategy? Because marijuana is so widely used,
Gettman recommends treating marijuana like a pharmaceutical product
subject to Federal Drug Administration testing and regulatory
requirements.

By shifting to a policy that treats and taxes marijuana like tobacco
and alcohol, Illinoisans could gain the following benefits: a decrease
in illegal activities surrounding drug sales; government control of
marijuana quality; better control of underage access to marijuana, and
the removal of the profit motive that attracts sellers, including a
substantial number of teenage sellers who, most frequently, supply
other teenagers.

On top of that, Miron estimates a marijuana sales tax would replace
the $207 million a year Illinois taxpayers are now spending to enforce
unenforceable laws, with a new revenue pipeline bringing in $35
million a year.

Ronald Fraser writes on public policy issues for the DKT Liberty
Project, a Washington-based civil liberties organization.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin