cannabisnews.com: NORML's Weekly News Bulletin - October 12, 2006 NORML's Weekly News Bulletin - October 12, 2006 Posted by CN Staff on October 12, 2006 at 10:29:18 PT Weekly Press Release Source: NORML Nearly One In Eight US Drug Prisoners Are Behind Bars For Pot -- Taxpayers Spending Over $1 Billion Annually To Incarcerate Pot OffendersOctober 12, 2006 - Washington, DC, USAWashington, DC: Nearly one in eight drug prisoners in America are behind bars for marijuana-related offenses, according to data released this week by the US Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). The BJS study, "Drug Use and Dependence, State and Federal Prisoners, 2004," reports that 12.7 percent of state inmates and 12.4 percent of federal inmates incarcerated for drug violations are serving time for marijuana offenses. Combining these percentages with separate US Department of Justice (DOJ) statistics on the total number of state and federal drug prisoners (BJS October 2005 Bulletin: "Prisoners in 2004" -- NCJ 210677) suggests that there are now approximately 33,655 state inmates and 10,785 federal inmates incarcerated for marijuana offenses. NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre said that the new BJS statistics belie the myth that few if any US prisoners are serving time for marijuana-related offenses. "According to these figures, nearly 45,000 state and federal prisoners are behind bars for having committed some type of cannabis-related offense," he said. "This means that US taxpayers are currently spending over $1 billion annually to incarcerate Americans for pot." The BJS report did not provide specific data on what percentage of US prisoners were serving times for marijuana possession crimes versus marijuana cultivation and/or trafficking. The BJS failed to include estimates on the percentage of inmates incarcerated in county jails for cannabis-related offenses. A previous BJS report based on 1997 data indicated that in 1999 approximately 39,000 US prisoners were serving time for pot violations. A 2005 study by the Sentencing Project think-tank in Washington, DC suggested that approximately 68,500 Americans are either incarcerated or on probation for marijuana-related offenses. According to data compiled by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and released in September, nearly 787,000 Americans were arrested for violating marijuana laws in 2005, the highest annual total ever recorded. Among those arrested, approximately 88 percent -- some 696,074 -- Americans were charged with marijuana possession only. For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director, or Paul Armentano, NORML Senior Policy Analyst, at (202) 483-5500. Full text of the new BJS report is available online at: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/dudsfp04.pdfDL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7071Source: NORML Foundation (DC)Published: October 12, 2006Copyright: 2006 NORML Contact: norml norml.org Website: http://www.norml.org/CannabisNews NORML Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/NORML.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #11 posted by whig on October 12, 2006 at 17:29:08 PT FoM, GCW I combined it with some music. I bet Genesis fans will like it too.http://cannablog.wordpress.com/2006/10/12/dont-miss-the-musical-box-below/ [ Post Comment ] Comment #10 posted by FoM on October 12, 2006 at 16:32:04 PT The GCW Glad you liked it. [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by The GCW on October 12, 2006 at 16:14:26 PT FoM in #1, That's really good.It seems every week people find new uses for the God-Given plant of choice. [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by unkat27 on October 12, 2006 at 16:06:07 PT Govt Survey: Laws Steer Americans To Alcohol Use Interesting results of survey which I've pretty much suspected all along. Good to see more hard scientific evidence to support it. The ruling class must prefer a nation of alcoholics over pot-users. Govt Survey: Laws Steer Americans To Alcohol Use [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by whig on October 12, 2006 at 16:02:33 PT Borat This is another film I'm looking forward to. Anyone else a Borat fan here? [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by FoM on October 12, 2006 at 15:52:22 PT Dankhank Enjoy the movie. It looks really good from the previews I've seen. I like Robin Williams. He is so unique. I like unique actors and musicians. That's what I like about Neil Young. I saw where they might do a sequel to Mrs. Doubfire. That was so funny. [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by Dankhank on October 12, 2006 at 15:37:58 PT MSNBC If I upgrade to the next level on Dish I can get it, but also will be paying for Fox, which I don't want to do.Upside? no fox to look at for any reason ...Downside? miss Keith, but a lot of his best stuff is on alternet.org. ... alternet is getting more into video ...we all make compromises ... such is life ...Peace all ....BTWFoMI know that, on a thread last month, I said I had heard enough of Robin for a while ... this Man of the Year looks to be good. 'speck we'll catch it in the theatre.We like to go to the theatre for the ones we want to see, the rest can wait ... [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by FoM on October 12, 2006 at 15:16:13 PT museman I am avoiding a lot of talking right now and I am reading and watching different polls and thinking about the future. I haven't given up hope but I still can't allow myself to get hopeful and then disappointed like I did in 04. I don't believe we have honest elections so unless the Democrats win by a fairly large number it might be given to the Republicans again. If the Democrats win I will take a deep breath and relax a little. More of any Republicans will be such a major turn off that I will probably not pay any attention to anything political at all and more then likely ever again. It will seem like a worthless cause. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by FoM on October 12, 2006 at 14:02:58 PT HardBall Now on MSNBC Robin Williams and Chris Matthews are on now.http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15110582/#061012a [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by museman on October 12, 2006 at 13:59:43 PT Power Today as my desktop came on, my yahoo page came up. As I am often curious, I read throught the links. Down in the left hand corner was a link and a picture of Senator Lugar with a title "Talk To Power" further described by "Talk to a lawmaker."I don't know about anyone else, but that little wording spoke volumes to me. In a country that postulates liberty and freedom as it's #1 credo, that claims day in and day out to be a country "of the people, and by the people" how can such a situation exist? I mean it is so obvious that all of these rich bastards are all professional poiticians -every last one of 'em from your local county commissioner, to their current emporer who sits illegally on the U.S. throne.How can there be a whole class of people distinctly and seperately labeled as 'lawmakers' and the "power" unless it exists at best as unbridled hypocrisy, and worst deliberate corruption and evil?It's the way they use our language to confound and confuse; spouting moral plattitudes, twisting fragments of truth into seeming volumes of lies and defintiions of cyclical 'logic', redefining various terminology to suit their own itineraries, and agendas -it's one crime after another against God, Humanity, the Earth and all life upon it.How can such ignorance be elevated to the forefront of social prominance in a country that supposedly is a "people government?" The answer is obvious and simple; 'because we are NOT a government 'of the people, by the people', and if we ever were nobody alive has actually experienced such a phenomenon.People read such a line as "Talk to power" with an image of a well-groomed 'properly attired' career criminal -called a politician - and they think nothing of it. They assume that the person, or any one else in his social-economic position IS 'power.' Why? Because most of Americans have been properly programmed to think whatever the media -and the 'power' tells them.1984 came and went. George Orwell died again that year, because even as the era unfolded his predictions and warnings went completely unheeded. Big brother Reagan declared the W.O.D. while the real power behind the throne -Bush and his fellow dogs setup numerous international drug cartels, and heads of state for future wars.For over twenty years the lie has been in our faces, the perpetrators so confident of their power that they just laugh at the 'little people' who challenge their social and political immensity with all the humor a demon can muster. In my mind it is quite naive to think that this is a 'new' situation, and anyone who thinks that should go back and renew their history.We have one liberty left us, one which they have nearly absolute control over anyway - 'freedom of speech.' So everywhere on the net for example there are words. And more words. Words of wisdom and truth popping in and out of the sea of lies and obfuscation, but quite often obscured by the prominance of those select power elites to whom the ignorant look for 'understanding' thus their 'understanding' bears very little resemblance to reality.Not only do we need to 'take back our country' but we need to take back our language as well [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by FoM on October 12, 2006 at 13:54:55 PT News Article from Reuters Canada Troops Battle 10-ft Afghan Marijuana Plants October 12, 2006 OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian troops fighting Taliban militants in Afghanistan have stumbled across an unexpected and potent enemy -- almost impenetrable forests of 10-feet (three metre) high marijuana plants.General Rick Hillier, chief of the Canadian defence staff, said on Thursday that Taliban fighters were using the forests as cover. In response, the crew of at least one armored car had camouflaged their vehicle with marijuana."The challenge is that marijuana plants absorb energy, heat very readily. It's very difficult to penetrate with thermal devices ... and as a result you really have to be careful that the Taliban don't dodge in and out of those marijuana forests," he said in a speech in Ottawa."We tried burning them with white phosphorous -- it didn't work. We tried burning them with diesel -- it didn't work. The plants are so full of water right now ... that we simply couldn't burn them," he said.Even successful incineration had its drawbacks."A couple of brown plants on the edges of some of those (forests) did catch on fire. But a section of soldiers that was downwind from that had some ill effects and decided that was probably not the right course of action," Hillier said dryly.One soldier told him later: "Sir, three years ago before I joined the army, I never thought I'd say 'That damn marijuana'."Copyright: Reuters 2006URL: http://tinyurl.com/teu3k [ Post Comment ] Post Comment