... therefore the costs of the current high-arrest policy both to those arrested and to the correctional system, are modest. Some recent figures from the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) cast doubt on that assertion. Calculations based on recent BJS reports suggest that, at any one time, 59,300 prisoners charged with or convicted of violating marijuana laws (3.3% ... a law enforcement emphasis on inner city areas where drug use and sales Once released from prison, felony disenfranchisement laws often perpetuate the disparate effects impacting citizens of color. 1.4 mi...

• Word Count: 2648
• Approx Pages: 11
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... vast majority of these offenders are in state and local jails and prisons, where they now account for almost one-fourth of the total population behind bars. Additionally, tens or perhaps hundreds of thousands of non-drug offenders on probation or parole are imprisoned or re-imprisoned each ... incarcerated persons tell the true story of the effect of alcohol and illegal drugs. In the 1998 report Behind Bars: Substance Abuse and America's Prison Population (SAAPP) the author's assert, [d]rug and alcohol abuse and addiction are implicated in the crimes and incarceration of 80 percent--some ...

• Word Count: 2815
• Approx Pages: 11
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... collected by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) showed about fifty percent of the juveniles arrested reporting recent drug use prior to their arrest. Wagner (1996) adds that the "general population studies showed a 2 to 4 fold increase in the likelihood of committing violent acts among adolescents who are drug involved" (Barnes, Hoffman, & Welte, 2002, p. 2). In addition the impact of drug use ... that juveniles have a greater chance of become delinquent once they have been psychologically abused or are having trouble dealing with divorce (Akers, 2000). Barnes, Hoffman, and Welte (...

• Word Count: 1969
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... did not work as well as hoped, so anti-marijuana groups adopted the next strategy: exaggeration. The goal was to scare potential marijuana users. Even such respected periodicals as the American Journal of Medicine went along with this strategy, publishing such warnings as: "Marijuana users will suddenly turn with murderous violence upon whoever is nearest to them. They will run amuck ... most forms cause assault and murder" (Grinspoon, 1971, p.17). It appears that the current attitude toward marijuana prohibition is based on the belief that relaxed policies lead to greater use. Statisti...

• Word Count: 1532
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: Undergraduate