Research Funded by MPP's Grants

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Reports funded by MPP's grants program include:


"Consistent, Persistent, and Resistant, Marijuana Use in the United States: A Special Report"
from The Bulletin of Cannabis Reform
Jon Gettman, Ph.D.
September 22, 2008

This report examines survey data on overall marijuana use in the United States, including use by age and race, and data on other illicit drug use, especially illicit drug use by non-marijuana users. The data shows that marijuana use remains consistent, persistent, and resistant despite federal, state, and local efforts to fight it. Survey data from 2002 to 2006 provides little support for claims by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) that Bush Administration anti-drug policies were successful in reducing the demand and use of marijuana.

For example, in 2006, marijuana was used at least once by 25.3 million people, or 10.3% of the population. This is a slight reduction over five years from 25.9 million (11%) in 2002. Also during 2006, marijuana was used in the last month by 14.9 million, or 6.1% of the population, which is a slight increase over five years from 14.6 million (6.2%) in 2002.

The report finds that although teenage marijuana use remains a serious problem, it's not the primary drug problem nor primary cause of teenage drug problems. Teens are exposed to far more dangerous substances as a result of the illegality of marijuana, and these public health issues are often obscured by the government's longstanding characterization of marijuana as the nation's primary illegal drug problem.


"Life Sentences: The Collateral Sanctions Associated with Marijuana Offenses"
Center for Cognitive Liberty and Ethics
July 2, 2007

In any given year, 750,000 people are arrested for marijuana offenses, and approximately 50,000 of these arrests result in felony convictions. This report examines the state-by-state legal barriers a person with a marijuana arrest or conviction faces when attempting to reenter mainstream society. The report defines these barriers as "collateral punishments" because they are not part of a sentence imposed by the judge but rather occur as a result of myriad laws that impose restrictions based on a criminal conviction.

In nearly every state, a person who commits a marijuana offense and fully serves his or her sentence (or successfully completes probation) is subject to continuing and long-lasting professional debilitation, barriers to family life, and limits on civic participation. Although marijuana offenses are considered less of an affront to civil society than violent crimes such as murder, rape, or kidnapping, and less of an affront than other drug offenses, this study shows that this consideration is rarely reflected in any of the collateral sanctions.

Collateral punishments can continue to haunt a person long after he or she has successfully completed the terms of a sentence. Especially in marijuana possession cases, where the direct punishment for the offense may be light, the collateral punishments may be far more severe.

"Overkill: The Rise of Paramilitary Police Raids in America"
The Cato Institute
July 17, 2006

The Cato Institute found that over the last 25 years, America has seen a 1300% increase in the use of paramilitary tactics in routine police work, and more than 300 botched raids have been reported. Paramilitary police units are often used to serve narcotics warrants, usually with forced, unannounced entry into private homes.

These raids subject nonviolent drug offenders, such as those who have been convicted of a marijuana offense (including misdemeanors), to the terror of having their homes invaded while they're sleeping, usually by heavily armed paramilitary police units.

This report tells the story of the police officers, children, innocent bystanders and suspects that who have lost their lives and suffered serious injuries as a result of a paramilitary raid.

"Stories from Inside: Prisoner Rape and the War on Drugs"
Stop Prisoner Rape
March 22, 2007

Stop Prisoner Rape finds that the war on drugs directly contributes to the high rate of sexual violence behind bars by causing prisons to become overcrowded. Many U.S. prisons and jails are currently operating at double capacity, which creates opportunities for predators, and the growing number of inmates with non-violent drug convictions are among the primary victims of sexual assault.

As many as one in four female and one in five male inmates experience sexual violence while incarcerated. For survivors of prisoner rape, the physical and psychological effects are devastating. In addition to physical injuries, many survivors contract HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, are impregnated against their will, and suffer long-term psychological harm. This report includes first-hand testimonies from men and women who were raped or sexually assaulted while serving time for a non-violent drug charge.

"Billions Spent to Stop Pot Smoking, But Program Effectiveness Remains Unknown"
Taxpayers for Common Sense
June 28, 2005

Taxpayers for Common Sense finds that despite the federal government spending tens of billions to combat marijuana use over the last three decades, use and perception of the drug has barely changed.

The report assesses the cost of the nation's anti-marijuana efforts and the effect those efforts have had on marijuana use and finds the program to have been a failure, noting that increased federal spending on marijuana has accompanied increased use. The report singles out as particularly wasteful and ineffective marijuana arrests (which have not stemmed marijuana usage rates), the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy's youth anti-drug media campaign, and student drug testing programs.

"The ultimate measure of the drug war's worth is its impact on drug usage," concludes the report. "By this standard, the federal marijuana program has fared poorly. Rather than continue to spend billions of dollars on the problem, it would be better for the U.S. government to get out of the marijuana business entirely."

"The War on Marijuana: The Transformation of the War on Drugs in the 1990s"
The Sentencing Project
May 3, 2005

The Sentencing Project finds that the war on drugs has become a war on low-level marijuana users. The report describes how, during the 1990s, the "war on drugs" was transformed to a "war on marijuana," with law enforcement officials shifting their focus to arresting increasing numbers of low-level marijuana offenders. Between 1990 and 2002, 82% of the national increase in drug arrests were for marijuana offenses, and nearly all of this increase was arrests for possession. Marijuana arrests now constitute 45% of the 1.5 million drug arrests annually.

As a result, significant policing resources have been dedicated to low-level offenses, with only 6% of marijuana arrests resulting in a felony conviction. One-quarter of people in prison for a marijuana offense are low-level offenders. Yet despite the billions of dollars being spent annually on marijuana law enforcement, use and availability have not declined, while cost has dropped.

"The Budgetary Implications of Marijuana Prohibition"
Dr. Jeffrey Miron
June 2, 2005

Dr. Miron, visiting professor of economics at Harvard University, estimates that replacing marijuana prohibition with a system of taxation and regulation similar to that used for alcoholic beverages would produce combined savings and tax revenues of between $10 billion and $14 billion per year.

More than 500 distinguished economists — led by Nobel Prize-winner Dr. Milton Friedman and two additional Nobel Laureates — endorsed the report and signed an open letter to President Bush and other public officials calling for "an open and honest debate about marijuana prohibition," adding, "We believe such a debate will favor a regime in which marijuana is legal but taxed and regulated like other goods."

Using data from a variety of federal and state government sources, Miron concludes that replacing marijuana prohibition with a system of legal regulation would save approximately $7.7 billion in government expenditures on prohibition enforcement — $2.4 billion at the federal level and $5.3 billion at the state and local levels — and revenue from taxation of marijuana sales would range from $2.4 billion per year if marijuana were taxed like ordinary consumer goods to $6.2 billion if it were taxed like alcohol or tobacco.

"Efficacy and Impact: The Criminal Justice Response to Marijuana Policy in the U.S."
Justice Policy Institute
August 25, 2005

This Justice Policy Institute reports that the leading drug use indicators suggest that arresting hundreds of thousands of marijuana offenders is not curbing marijuana use. The report measures the effectiveness and consequences of national drug control policies that have resulted in the U.S. spending 300 times what it did 35 years ago on drug control. Despite the increase in spending from $65 million to $19 billion and the imprisonment of 30,000 people for marijuana offenses, marijuana usage has remained relatively unchanged.

In fact, marijuana usage has remained relatively stable throughout the last 20 years, except for a dramatic drop of 61 percent during the 1980's, when arrest rates declined 24 percent. When arrest rates increased 127 percent during the 1990's, the rate of usage climbed 22 percent.

"Patients, 'Potheads,' and Dying to Get High"
Wendy Chapkis, Associate Professor of Sociology, University of Southern Maine
May 2004

This ethnographic research study of the Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana (WAMM) examines whether this model of not-for-profit medical marijuana provision might be adapted successfully for use elsewhere by public officials implementing voter-mandated medical marijuana policies. Interviews with California law enforcement officers, public health officials, and local elected officials suggested that the WAMM model works well not only for patients but also for public officials who are concerned that medical marijuana be available only to qualified patients.

(Despite the fact that WAMM operates legally under both local and California state laws, agents of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration raided the WAMM garden in September 2002.)

"Generalized Harmful Consequences of the National Youth Anti-Marijuana Media Campaign"
"Explicit and Implicit Effects of Anti-Marijuana and Anti-Tobacco TV Commercials"
Harvey J. Ginsburg and Maria Czyzewska
Presented before the American Psychological Society
June 2005

Drs. Ginsburg and Czyzewska, psychology professors at Texas State University, find that anti-marijuana ads do little to dissuade young people from using marijuana — and that ads funded by the Office of National Drug Control Policy are actually having a "boomerang" effect and may even prompt some teens to experiment.

College students were asked to watch several of the commercials and give detailed descriptions of the thoughts the ads generated. Three of every four students reported that the ads sparked thoughts that ran counter to the ads' message. The researchers explain that the ads' weakness is that young people see them as exaggerated and nonfactual, creating distrust of the source and its message. They also found that students were more receptive to antismoking ads, possibly because antismoking campaigns have a more factual approach, as opposed to the exaggerated dangers in the anti-drug ads.

"Smoking Marijuana in Public: the Spatial and Policy Shift in New York City Arrests, 1992-2003"
Andrew Golub, Bruce D. Johnson, and Eloise Dunlap
National Development and Research Institute
August 4, 2006

During the 1990s, the New York Police Department (NYPD) greatly expanded arrests for smoking marijuana in public view (MPV). By 2000, MPV accounted for 15% of all arrests. The NYPD's supporters report this arrest activity is just part of quality-of-life policing, which seeks to promote order in public locations by aggressively patrolling for behaviors that offend the general population. The NYPD's critics contend the NYPD has disproportionately targeted poor, black and Hispanic communities.

This paper analyzes the geographic distribution of MPV arrests from 1992 to 2003 to evaluate these arguments. In the early 1990s, most MPV arrests were recorded in the lower half of Manhattan (NYCs business and cultural center) and by the transit police. However, in the later 1990s and into the 2000s, most MPV arrests were recorded in high poverty, minority communities outside the lower Manhattan area and by the NYPDs policing of low-income housing projects. These findings suggest that current levels of MPV arrests in NYC may not be justifiable, at least based solely on the purpose of quality-of-life policing.

Report on the Syracuse Police Department Activity for the Year Ended June 30, 2002
City of Syracuse
December 2003

Syracuse City Auditor Minch Lewis' assessment of drug enforcement policy in Syracuse, New York finds that the Syracuse Police Department is spending an inordinate amount of time and money on drug violations with very little results, when a change in approach would be far more effective.

Lewis notes that of the 28,000 arrests the Syracuse Police Department makes annually, 7,000 are drug-related — exceeding arrests for assaults, disturbances, and larcenies combined.

Lewis notes: "Most people are concerned about the violence that happens when drugs are sold on the corner. They don't care if someone uses drugs in private. Our policy today may be contributing to the violence just as prohibition did for the last generation." Lewis recommends exploring alternatives to prohibition, including decriminalization, treatment on demand, harm reduction, and prevention.

The organization ReconsiDer was instrumental in encouraging the City Auditor to obtain the information, analyzing the data, and publicizing the reports findings.

"Pharmacotherapy and the Future of the Drug War"
Center for Cognitive Liberty and Ethics
June 2004

Over the next decade, an increasing number of new "pharmacotherapy" medications will become available with the potential to tremendously impact the use and abuse of illegal drugs and the overall direction of national and international drug policy. These pharmacotherapy medications are designed to block or significantly reduce the "highs" elicited by illegal drugs. If used as part of a drug treatment program, these medications may be valuable for people seeking a chemical aid in limiting or eliminating problem drug use. However, the tremendously politicized nature of the drug war raises serious concerns that some people will be forced to use them against their will.

This report concludes that governmental action compelling a person to use pharmacotherapy drugs would violate a number of constitutional guarantees and other legal rights protecting people from forced medical treatment. Among the rights potentially implicated by compulsory use of pharmacotherapy drugs are the right to informed consent, the right to bodily integrity and privacy, the protection against cruel and unusual punishment, and the right to freedom of thought.

The U.S. Supreme Court has held that "convicted persons do not forfeit all constitutional protections by reason of their conviction and confinement in prison." Because rehabilitation is one of the traditional purposes of criminal punishment, it is possible that pharmacotherapy medicines, which are categorized as "treating" drug addiction, could be used to treat people incarcerated for a marijuana offense without their consent.


Source: Research Funded by MPP's Grants