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<br /> 06/01/2007 10:24 7753542376 LESYMAE F'CGE 39
<br /> MARIJUANA PROHIBITION ~=~'!~i,C;;;:'I"!s
<br /> _ _ 2006
<br /> ? Very few Americans had even heard ahout marijuana when ? A recent study Of prisons in fotu 1~4:clneat::tn !tarts found
<br /> it was fltst federally prohibited in 1937. Today, between 95 and that approximately one in ton male iota ..t r.','~e 1~_rtcd 1:aat t:1C'7
<br /> 100 million Americans admit to having tried it, and about 11.5 had been rapedwhila in prison.'a'Y,e~;q'. o'` r q;~r: a x ~.~exr[1 zssault
<br /> million say they use It at least monthly.' against women prisoners, who s:re c~oa 111 :e tc be ~ibvsed
<br /> try male staff members, have L7cen rrp: tb:c to I:~e zs higYl as
<br /> ? Attording to grn-crnmtnt-funded rescazchas, high school 27 percentin someinstihztions.'~'
<br /> senlorx cansistentiy report that marijuana is easily available,
<br /> despite decades of a nattonwide drug war. With little variation, ? Cwii forfeiture laws allow polio ee ; rir:: tar. mo:7zr~ :md
<br /> eveey yaae about a5% coneid~ marijuana "fairly eaey" eX 'bory propeety of suspected marijuana afli+. r,ar r h:ugas need not
<br /> eery"toolrtain.zbatahomtheU.S.CentersforI)iseaseCAntrol cvenbeflled.Theclaimisxgainsttitepn:~p~ri•q, luf'[hede•fend:mt
<br /> and Prevention show that more U.S. high school students The Ocvncr must then prove th.Ft fv; p rq;e~t7 I:: "i~mc,rent'
<br /> currently .zmolw marijuana, which is romplMely umeaulated, [nLSreemenr atmcec crl=mminf; I`-. x•I f•nfi li: n 1.arnrbJtlr,d.
<br /> than smoke cigarettes, which are sold by regulated businessu. °
<br /> ? According to estimates by }:a, n.:d 1L•ii7<rstly a<:ml0roist
<br /> ? There have been over seven million marijuana arrertz in the ]affnyMimn, rcplarinF marijuana -~rd~~i'r P n ~ a^~hh a svstent of
<br /> United$tates since 1995,indudfng 771,9tl4 arrests in2W4-more taxation and n:guladun would savt Lr.I~~vlec.:110 b'..Ilivn amd 514
<br /> than for all violent crimes ax7mhined, and an all-time record, billion per year in reduced gnvernrne~-u L a:rrvlli ;:¢.d increased
<br /> (lnrSrnl:cnn icnrteKed fnrmarijuanar+very 4l. anrr,ndc Ahrntt R4N tax rrvmnes.'s
<br /> of ail marijuana arrests are for possession -not manufacture or
<br /> dlRMbunon. ` ? Many patients and their doraor:, lil ri n a:ijuana a us~Yul
<br /> medicine as part of the rreatmer t for ,11 C?., rz m::x, i;iaclxana,
<br /> ? Every cOmprehenslve, objective government commission multiplesderosis,andothenllmeVr,. Yct-f el~sl erall1ovranmcm
<br /> that has examined the marijuana phenomenon throughout allows only seven patients inthc'hrnal:4<lie;•cus:lnatijulna~
<br /> rhP past 100 years has recommended that aduits should not be as amediefne, throuYhaproEram r,ow r,li ced :c ne.r applicants.
<br /> alminaltzedforusingmarijuana.° Federal laws heat all other paYa-ats ruC.e"ri„ using medical
<br /> marijuanaas criminals. Doctors arep[eseti a'dowed to Frresn16e
<br /> ? Cultivation Of even one marijuana plantisdfederal felony Cocaine and morphine-but not mari'~a>[a
<br /> ? t.engthy mandatory minimum sentences apply to myriad ? Organizations that have em':~r!:r, ncnlic:J access to
<br /> offenses. For example.apersonmustaerveafive-yeazmandatory marijuanalncludeaheAlASActiont:er:.r..-Lr!netirmAetdem'%
<br /> minltslum sentence 1! federally mmicted of cultivating 100 of Family Physicians, Amertcar. Pui: G~ l b a th .15sOCiatiOn,
<br /> marijuana plants-inchrding seedlings or bug-infested, sickly American Academy of IiIV lredb: n'e, ar3tsi<an "Nurses
<br /> plants- Thls is longer than the average sentences for auto theft Assodation, Lymphoma Founcatior. u1 rin~erial, National
<br /> and manslaughter) r Association of People Wich AIDS, the a:e~,.e mr:d ice. ;nsociation s
<br /> of New Ynrk, Cahftznia, and Rhate I's;:.nr,, ;.n i xlan'Y oth~zrs.
<br /> ? A one-year minimum prison sentence is mandated for
<br /> "distributing" or "manufacturing" conholled substances within ? A few of the many editoria, be ~ ixl I I rl rt !i ice cnJO[se<S
<br /> 1,000 Peer of any school, university, or playground. Mast areas medical access m marijuana irchldc. 9:uir m c-,'obr, C'ifira~y
<br /> In a ctty fall within these "drug-free zones." An adult who livts TribiMe, Miami IferalA, New Ynrk Thar.! ~ Tzm fe C'cvmy Regi2n,
<br /> three blocksfrom auniveesityis subject toaone-yeaz mandatory USA TOAay, lialtimOre's .Sun, and Ti: C:.~il ~~ahs Tirlrt.
<br /> minimum xnsrntt foz selling an Ounce Of marijuana to another
<br /> adult - Or even RrOwing One marijuana plant in his or her ? Since1996,amajOdtyOfvotetstn AI.:.:'•a,, Rri.:ona,Cali[crmia,
<br /> basement. ° Colorado, the DisMd of Columbil, h•I:n i a, t Qonl snr, Nevada,
<br /> Oregon, and Washington state la•:c -r; t:d r tz vnr of bal]oI
<br /> ? While exact figures are anavailablc, conservative eSNmatcs initiatives to remove criminal petalGrv; <; r:r ously i!I necple
<br /> indicate that between 32,500 and 40,000 Americans arc in who growor possess medical mar`jua~ml
<br /> prison or jail on marijuana chazges right now -more than the
<br /> cM(rc prison populations of eight individual European Union ? Fifty-due percent of Ametica-f:, be:ie:.~: •:r assrssion of small
<br /> countries combined.' amounts of marijuana should ^v:f: b.: C~E~T e~i as a cr uninal
<br /> offertiE. Scv<ntyeight percent r.~p:'.t' "n ax ag to atijuantl
<br /> legally available for dottozs to prtscr;t;r i~t nri[n:0 reduce pain
<br /> and atffering."'^
<br /> MnR11UANA POllCr PCOIacT . D.O. aOX 774R2 /~1R[rOl HILL ~ WASNMGTnA~, J. ~.1'
<br /> TEL2@.4a2.Sra7 . FA%102-132-0441 . MPP@MM',ORC • IfTTP:/M'kAgMPP.pR~:
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