Thousands of Minnesota parents are hoping that the threat of arrest will steer their kids clear of a run-in with the law.
However, a new report shows that, nationally, marijuana use does not go down as marijuana possession arrests go up.
In "Marijuana Arrests in the United States in 2007," a study funded by the Washington-based Marijuana Policy Project, Jon Gettman, adjunct assistant professor of criminal justice at Shenandoah University in Winchester, Va., concludes that, "Nationally, there is little apparent relationship between increasing marijuana arrests and the rates of use."
U.S. marijuana arrests jumped from 287,850 in 1991 to 872,720 in 2007. During the same period, people reporting marijuana use within the past year also went up, from
19.2 million to 25.2 million.
Turning to Minnesota, the study addresses marijuana use, the cost of arrests and the effectiveness of arrests as a drug use control strategy.
Marijuana use. In response to the state's efforts to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana, arrests made by state and local police in Minnesota went down from 8,705 in 1999, to 7,651 in 2007 while, in the same period, past-month marijuana users went up from 208,000 to 312,000. People ages 15 to 24 accounted for 65 percent of those charged with marijuana possession in 2007.
Enforcement costs. Gettman estimates that marijuana possession arrests in 2006 cost Minnesota's taxpayers about $137.4 million, or about $12,000 per arrest. At this price, if marijuana possession arrests do not cut drug use, why do they continue?
In part, tough-on-crime advocates use marijuana arrests as a backdoor way to fill drug treatment programs. In 2007, Minnesota's criminal justice system sent more than
2,963 people to drug treatment programs - often as an
alternative to avoid more
severe punishments. Drug treatment and education programs make sense, but not if the up-front arrest cost to round up customers tops $12,000 each.
"Forcing individuals into drug treatment programs," says Gettman, "is a dubious justification for making arrests of individuals for possession of marijuana."
Maturity outperforms arrests. Using arrests to coerce young people into treatment programs is questionable from yet another perspective. Statistics indicate that the vast majority of the young people arrested for marijuana use will simply quit using the drug on their own - without the threat of arrest - as they mature, start careers, get married and take on other responsibilities.
In Minnesota, in 2007, only
8 percent of the population 26 and older were annual marijuana users, whereas the percentages for users ages 12 to 17 and 18 to 25 were 13 percent and 31 percent, respectively.
Regarding why so many young people use marijuana, the study finds that in spite of its illegal status, "Most teenagers say that marijuana is fairly easy to obtain."
One of the reasons marijuana remains easy for youths to obtain is the profit incentive created by the illegal market. Simply put, teenagers make money by selling marijuana to other youths, which increases the availability of marijuana among teens. In this way, marijuana's illegality makes it more widely and readily available to teenagers.
It appears that arrests of young people for experimenting with marijuana as they pass through an exploration-filled stage in their life is largely pointless and very costly. Instead of arrests, the passage of time, at no cost to the state, is a more effective drug control strategy.
What to do? The purpose of law enforcement is to keep us safe. Instead of spending more than $100 million each year arresting young people for possessing small amounts of marijuana, Minnesota might use that freed-up money and manpower to work on unsolved violent crimes. In Minnesota, only 75 percent of all murders, 23 percent of all rapes and 23 percent of all robberies result in an arrest. With so many serious crimes going unsolved, only inertia can explain why every day in Minnesota, 20 more people are charged with possession of marijuana.
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 Magazine - Cannabis Culture News & Reviews
Source: WinonaDailyNews.com
Author: Ronald Fraser
Contact: WinonaDailyNews.com
Copyright: 2010, winonadailynews.com
Website: Possession arrests don't slow marijuana use
However, a new report shows that, nationally, marijuana use does not go down as marijuana possession arrests go up.
In "Marijuana Arrests in the United States in 2007," a study funded by the Washington-based Marijuana Policy Project, Jon Gettman, adjunct assistant professor of criminal justice at Shenandoah University in Winchester, Va., concludes that, "Nationally, there is little apparent relationship between increasing marijuana arrests and the rates of use."
U.S. marijuana arrests jumped from 287,850 in 1991 to 872,720 in 2007. During the same period, people reporting marijuana use within the past year also went up, from
19.2 million to 25.2 million.
Turning to Minnesota, the study addresses marijuana use, the cost of arrests and the effectiveness of arrests as a drug use control strategy.
Marijuana use. In response to the state's efforts to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana, arrests made by state and local police in Minnesota went down from 8,705 in 1999, to 7,651 in 2007 while, in the same period, past-month marijuana users went up from 208,000 to 312,000. People ages 15 to 24 accounted for 65 percent of those charged with marijuana possession in 2007.
Enforcement costs. Gettman estimates that marijuana possession arrests in 2006 cost Minnesota's taxpayers about $137.4 million, or about $12,000 per arrest. At this price, if marijuana possession arrests do not cut drug use, why do they continue?
In part, tough-on-crime advocates use marijuana arrests as a backdoor way to fill drug treatment programs. In 2007, Minnesota's criminal justice system sent more than
2,963 people to drug treatment programs - often as an
alternative to avoid more
severe punishments. Drug treatment and education programs make sense, but not if the up-front arrest cost to round up customers tops $12,000 each.
"Forcing individuals into drug treatment programs," says Gettman, "is a dubious justification for making arrests of individuals for possession of marijuana."
Maturity outperforms arrests. Using arrests to coerce young people into treatment programs is questionable from yet another perspective. Statistics indicate that the vast majority of the young people arrested for marijuana use will simply quit using the drug on their own - without the threat of arrest - as they mature, start careers, get married and take on other responsibilities.
In Minnesota, in 2007, only
8 percent of the population 26 and older were annual marijuana users, whereas the percentages for users ages 12 to 17 and 18 to 25 were 13 percent and 31 percent, respectively.
Regarding why so many young people use marijuana, the study finds that in spite of its illegal status, "Most teenagers say that marijuana is fairly easy to obtain."
One of the reasons marijuana remains easy for youths to obtain is the profit incentive created by the illegal market. Simply put, teenagers make money by selling marijuana to other youths, which increases the availability of marijuana among teens. In this way, marijuana's illegality makes it more widely and readily available to teenagers.
It appears that arrests of young people for experimenting with marijuana as they pass through an exploration-filled stage in their life is largely pointless and very costly. Instead of arrests, the passage of time, at no cost to the state, is a more effective drug control strategy.
What to do? The purpose of law enforcement is to keep us safe. Instead of spending more than $100 million each year arresting young people for possessing small amounts of marijuana, Minnesota might use that freed-up money and manpower to work on unsolved violent crimes. In Minnesota, only 75 percent of all murders, 23 percent of all rapes and 23 percent of all robberies result in an arrest. With so many serious crimes going unsolved, only inertia can explain why every day in Minnesota, 20 more people are charged with possession of marijuana.
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 Magazine - Cannabis Culture News & Reviews
Source: WinonaDailyNews.com
Author: Ronald Fraser
Contact: WinonaDailyNews.com
Copyright: 2010, winonadailynews.com
Website: Possession arrests don't slow marijuana use
