The Financial Cost of the American "War on Drugs"
Paul Armentano, senior policy advisor for NORML, writes an article in The Examiner about the recent Department of Justice Report “Drug Use and Dependence, State and Federal Prisoners, 2004”.
The new report is noteworthy because it undermines the common claim from law enforcement officers and bureaucrats, specifically White House drug czar John Walters, that few, if any, Americans are incarcerated for marijuana-related offenses. In reality, nearly 1 out of 8 U.S. drug prisoners are locked up for pot.
Of course, several hundred thousand more Americans are arrested each year for violating marijuana laws, costing taxpayers another $8 billion dollars annually in criminal justice costs.
He goes on to comment that this figure does not include county jail inmates. Since probably most marijuana related incarceration is of the misdemeanor variety, I'm sure this actually seriously mis-underestimates the cost to us as taxpayers. In Austin, most marijuana offenders sentenced to incarceration (i.e. not probation) will spend all of that time in the Travis County Jail. I don't have the statistics, but I'm sure it's the same in most or all Texas counties.
I’ve long been a believer that educating folks about the financial costs of the drug war may be what ends up convincing politicians to eventually reform our drug policy. Thankfully, here in Austin, first time misdemeanor marijuana offenders are eligible for Pre-Trial Diversion. This program leads to a dismissal with counseling and community service. Also, it results in a savings to the community, as well as just being the right thing to do with a first time marijuana offense.
Noting the large percentage of Americans who self-report marijuana use at some point, I have to agree with Armentano’s conclusion as well: “It makes no sense to continue to treat nearly half of all Americans as criminals”.
