The war on marijuana: The transformation of the war on drugs in the 1990s

BACKGROUND: As the "war on drugs" enters the latter half of its third decade since being forged into the American lexicon by President Ronald Reagan, the public has grown more skeptical of the current strategy and has proven to be receptive to a broader consideration of alternatives to inc...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Authors: King, Ryan S (Author) ; Mauer, Marc (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Published: 2006
In: Harm reduction journal
Year: 2006
Online Access: Volltext (kostenfrei)
Volltext (kostenfrei)
Check availability: HBZ Gateway

MARC

LEADER 00000caa a22000002c 4500
001 1866590685
003 DE-627
005 20250325045337.0
007 cr uuu---uuuuu
008 231020s2006 xx |||||o 00| ||eng c
024 7 |a 10.1186/1477-7517-3-6  |2 doi 
035 |a (DE-627)1866590685 
035 |a (DE-599)KXP1866590685 
040 |a DE-627  |b ger  |c DE-627  |e rda 
041 |a eng 
084 |a 2,1  |2 ssgn 
100 1 |a King, Ryan S  |e VerfasserIn  |4 aut 
245 1 4 |a The war on marijuana: The transformation of the war on drugs in the 1990s 
264 1 |c 2006 
336 |a Text  |b txt  |2 rdacontent 
337 |a Computermedien  |b c  |2 rdamedia 
338 |a Online-Ressource  |b cr  |2 rdacarrier 
520 |a BACKGROUND: As the "war on drugs" enters the latter half of its third decade since being forged into the American lexicon by President Ronald Reagan, the public has grown more skeptical of the current strategy and has proven to be receptive to a broader consideration of alternatives to incarceration. This has been the case most notably with marijuana offenses, where the policy discussion has shifted in some localities to one of decriminalization or de-prioritizing law enforcement resources dedicated to pursuing possession offenses. Despite the increased profile surrounding marijuana policy in recent years, there remains a significant degree of misunderstanding regarding the current strategy, both in terms of how resources are being allocated and to what eventual gain. METHODS: Previous studies have analyzed drug offenses as a general category, but there has yet to be a single study that has focused specifically on marijuana offenders at all stages of the system. This report analyzes multiple sources of data for the period 1990–2002 from each of the critical points in the criminal justice system, from arrest through court processing and into the correctional system, to create an overall portrait of this country's strategy in dealing with marijuana use. RESULTS: The study found that since 1990, the primary focus of the war on drugs has shifted to low-level marijuana offenses. During the study period, 82% of the increase in drug arrests nationally (450,000) was for marijuana offenses, and virtually all of that increase was in possession offenses. Of the nearly 700,000 arrests in 2002, 88% were for possession. Only 1 in 18 of these arrests results in a felony conviction, with the rest either being dismissed or adjudicated as a misdemeanor, meaning that a substantial amount of resources, roughly $4 billion per year for marijuana alone, is being dedicated to minor offenses. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that law enforcement resources are not being effectively allocated to offenses which are most costly to society. The financial and personnel investment in marijuana offenses, at all points in the criminal justice system, diverts funds away from other crime types, thereby representing a questionable policy choice 
700 1 |8 1\p  |a Mauer, Marc  |e VerfasserIn  |0 (DE-588)1138453080  |0 (DE-627)896018105  |0 (DE-576)492547254  |4 aut 
773 0 8 |i Enthalten in  |t Harm reduction journal  |d London : BioMed Central, 2004  |g (2006)  |h Online-Ressource  |w (DE-627)388089350  |w (DE-600)2146691-9  |w (DE-576)121924033  |x 1477-7517  |7 nnas 
773 1 8 |g year:2006 
856 |u https://harmreductionjournal.biomedcentral.com/track/pdf/10.1186/1477-7517-3-6  |x unpaywall  |z Vermutlich kostenfreier Zugang  |h publisher [deprecated] 
856 4 0 |u https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/3918959.pdf  |x Verlag  |z kostenfrei  |3 Volltext  |7 0 
856 4 0 |u https://doi.org/10.1186/1477-7517-3-6  |x Resolving-System  |z kostenfrei  |3 Volltext  |7 0 
883 |8 1\p  |a cgwrk  |d 20250301  |q DE-101  |u https://d-nb.info/provenance/plan#cgwrk 
935 |a mkri 
951 |a AR 
ELC |a 1 
LOK |0 000 xxxxxcx a22 zn 4500 
LOK |0 001 4394227275 
LOK |0 003 DE-627 
LOK |0 004 1866590685 
LOK |0 005 20231020043639 
LOK |0 008 231020||||||||||||||||ger||||||| 
LOK |0 035   |a (DE-2619)CORE1875837 
LOK |0 040   |a DE-2619  |c DE-627  |d DE-2619 
LOK |0 092   |o n 
LOK |0 852   |a DE-2619 
LOK |0 852 1  |9 00 
LOK |0 935   |a core 
LOK |0 939   |a 20-10-23  |b l01 
OAS |a 1 
ORI |a SA-MARC-krimdoka001.raw