Transcript National Overview for Marijuana Summit

National Overview for
Marijuana Summit
Tampa, Florida
February 18-19, 2013
By: Calvina Fay
Executive Director
Drug Free America Foundation, Inc.
And
Save Our Society From Drugs
America is under attack!
 Marijuana is portrayed as harmless
 Marijuana use is glorified
 Efforts to legalize and/or decriminalize
marijuana are well-funded and picking up
strength
The 1990s’ Ploys of the Drug Culture
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Mainstream America approach
Prison overcrowding
Harm reduction – responsible/safe use
Marijuana and other Schedule One drugs as
“medicine”
 Drug war has failed
 Hemp for the environment
Societal shifts that aided the drug
legalization movement
• Due to both parents working and many single parent homes,
parents have less time to be involved in lives of kids
• Fewer family meals
• Fewer families attend religious services
• Loss of teachers’ and parent’s rights to discipline children
• Baby boomers became parents and thought marijuana
harmless because they weren’t harmed
• Public perception that pot is benign or safer than alcohol
and people are too busy to read and learn from legitimate
sources
• The Internet has become an effective tool for propagating
misinformation
Societal shifts that aided the drug
legalization movement
• With many new designer drugs and more awareness of
prevalence of drugs, public perceives drug war as failure
• More and more family members have been arrested for
drugs, resulting in an attitude shift away from incarceration
• Media bias has increased enormously as many members are
themselves current or former drug users
• The other side has received huge amounts of funding to
mobilize and train – and misinform
• When government took over the job of preventing and
treating drug problems, parents handed it over
• With so many lawsuits pushed by the ACLU, even employers
have somewhat abandoned the issue
Risk vs. Use
Disapproval vs. Use
The Involvement of Marijuana in CA Fatal Motor Vehicle
Crashes 1998-2008 – Alfred Crancer and Alan Crancer
The Involvement of Marijuana in CA Fatal
Motor Vehicle Crashes 1998-2008 – Alfred
Crancer and Alan Crancer
2012 CA Roadside Survey of Nighttime Weekend
Drivers’ Alcohol and Drug Use – Pacific Institute for
Research and Evaluation
• Drivers were allowed to opt out and 20% did
• 14% tested positive for one drug vs. 7.3%
alcohol
• 14% marijuana users admitted using within 2
hrs. of driving
• 17% of marijuana users had BAC .05-.08 also
Decriminalization
Decriminalization
Medical Marijuana
Decriminalization
Medical Marijuana
Legalized
Decriminalization
Medical
Targeted for Legalization
Legalized
Decriminalization
Medical
Targeted for Legalization
Legalized
Targeted for Medical
State Legislation Overview
• In 2012 we tracked 116 pieces of pro-drug
legislation introduced in 31 states
• 31 are bills that sought to establish medi-pot
programs
• 12 sought to decriminalize marijuana
• 10 sought to tax and/or regulate marijuana
• 28 sought to expand current medi-pot programs
• Remaining were misc. drug bills such as hemp bills,
rescheduling MJ, & restructuring criminal penalties
We defeated 94 bills
• Medi-pot bills in AL, FL, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY,
MD, MS, MO, NH, NY, OH, PA, TN, WV, WI
• Decrim bills in AZ, HI, IL, IN, NH, NY, VT
• Legalize, tax & regulate bills in CA, CT, MA,
MI, NH, RI
• 16 bills were carried over to the 2013 session
We only lost 6 bills
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Decrim bills in MD & RI
Dispensary bill in RI
Medi-pot bill in CT
Hemp bill in CO
Bill to create medi-pot fund in NM
Expansion of medi-pot law as to who can
recommend in RI
90 Pro-Drug bills have been introduced
already in 2013!
• Medi-pot bills in AL, IL, IA, KS, KY, MS, NH, NY, NC,
SD, TX
• Legalize, tax & regulate bills in HI, NH, RI
• Expansion of medi-pot bills in CO, HI, MT, OR, VT,
WA
• Decrim bills in HI, IN, MD, MN, MO, NH, NM, NY,
OK, SD, VT
Unfortunately, we lost 3 significant
ballot initiatives in 2012
• Marijuana legalized under the guise of
medicine in MA
• Full legalization of marijuana in CO
• Full legalization of marijuana in WA
Conflicts with laws and treaties exit
• Federal Controlled Substances Act
• International Drug Control Treaties
More current data shows state prisons
currently are not clogged with low-level
nonviolent marijuana users
 1.598 million prisoners in state systems in 2011 vs.
1.262 million in 2004
 53% sentenced for violent offenses
 17% drug crimes (all drugs)
 18% property offenses
 14% murder and manslaughter
 12% sexual assault
Source: Prisoners in 2011, Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice,
Office of Justice Programs