Illegal Drugs and the Economy

Sami Gordon, Sammi Langer, and Maty Beraja

POT QUIZ!

1. Today, marijuana grows all over the world, but where is the cannabis plant

found indigenously?

a) Central and South Asiab) the Americasc) Eastern Europed) Central Africa

Answer:b) Central America

The presence of cannabis seeds charred more than 5,000 years ago at an ancient burial site in present-day

Romania attests to long human use of the drug. Cannabis was also used by ancient Hindus and Nihang

Sikhs of India and Nepal thousands of years ago

2. Which of the following plants is most closely related to cannabis?

a) tobaccob) cocac) Saged) hops

Answer:d) hops

The common hop (Humulus lupulus) and the 3 species of cannabis (Cannabis

sativa, indica, and ruderalis) are members of the Cannabaceae family

3. How was cannabis used by the Office of Strategic Services, a World War II-era US intelligence agency?

a) as a gateway drugb) to assassinate targetsc) as a truth serumd) to frame political enemies

Answer:c) as a truth serum

The Office of Strategic Services was an intelligence agency formed during World War II. At their lab at St. Elizabeths Hospital in

Washington, D.C., a concentrated form of marijuana was deemed the most effective "truth serum" available. In 1943, the drug was given via cigarettes to Augusto Del Gracio, an enforcer with New

York mafia boss Lucky Luciano, who subsequently revealed details of the group's heroin-selling operation.

4. Which was the first state to decriminalize possession of

marijuana?a) Michiganb) California c) Oregond) Vermont

Answer:c) Oregon

In 1973, Oregon made the possession of one ounce or less of marijuana a

violation (not a crime) punishable by a fine up to $1,000

5. Which state allows for medical use of marijuana?

a) Floridab) Montana c) Illinoisd) all of the above

Answer:b) Montana

Medical use of marijuana was approved by Montana voters in a

2004 ballot initiative

6. What year was marijuana made illegal in the United States?

a) 1904b) 1920c) 1937d) 1954

Answer:c) 1937

Over the objections of the American Medical Association, the Marihuana Tax Act was signed into law on Aug. 2, 1937. It did not directly outlaw cannabis. Rather, it imposed a tax that effectively made it illegal to distribute it. The act was

subsequently supplanted by other laws regulating the drug, and it was eventually ruled unconstitutional and repealed

in 1970.

7. According to the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction,

which country has the highest per capita lifetime cannabis use?

a) Canadab) Netherlandsc) Spaind) US

Answer:a) Canada

8. Which states have marijuana initiatives on the ballot in November?

a) Massachusetts, California, North Carolina, and Oregon

b) Vermont, Arizona, North Carolina, and Delaware c) Florida, California, Illinois, and Michigand) California, Arizona, South Dakota, and Oregon

Answer:d) California, Arizona, South

Dakota, and Oregon

As the Monitor reported on Oct. 1, California's ballot initiative would legalize marijuana. Arizona and South

Dakota have initiatives that would allow medical marijuana use, and Oregon would regulate medical

marijuana with nonprofit pharmacies.

9. According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, what percentage of teens

between 12 and 17 used marijuana in 2009?

a) between 0 and 5 percentb) between 5 and 10 percentc) between 10 and 15 percentd) between 15 and 20 percent

Answer:b) between 5 and 10 percent

According to the survey, from 2002 to 2007, past-month marijuana use among those ages

12 to 17 generally decreased from 2002 to 2005, remained constant between 2005 and 2007, and then increased from 2007 to 2009.

10. According to 2006 and 2007 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health, which state has the highest per capita marijuana use for

people age 12 or older?

a) Californiab) Rhode Islandc) Vermontd) Colorado

Answer:b) Rhode Island

Drug Enforcement around the world

America’s War on Illegal Drugs

• Prescription drugs• the combined total opiates (heroin/opium)

market= $65 billion per year• Legalization= saving roughly $41.3 billion per

year

http://www.drugwarfacts.org/cms/Economics

Prescription Drugs

• Florida lacks enforcement• 168,900 deaths statewide• 38 other states have approved prescription

drug monitoring programs that track sales

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/14/us/14florida.html

Law Enforcement• $574 million + $114 million + $412 million= 1.1 billion• In 2000: 734,000 arrests • In 1990: 5.9 million arrests• Marijuana does not cause brain damage, genetic

damage, or damage the immune system. • +1 billion dollars per year to incarcerate its citizens

for pot• 9.4 billion in 2000 to imprison close to 500,000

people

http://legalizationofmarijuana.com/

11. An ABC News poll in January showed what percentage of Americans in favor of legalizing

medical marijuana?

a) 26 percentb) 39 percentc) 68 percentd) 81 percent

Answer:d) 81 percent

• Save government $7.7 billion

• Large tax revenue• Help stabilize the economy• Bring in $6.2 billion dollars• Profit would go to

government• Reduce drug related

crimes• Medical advantages

Legalizing Illegalizing• Morally incorrect• Intoxicating effects• Increase availability• More Crime• Fear of getting into

trouble

http://www.drugwatch.org/Against%20Legalization%20of%20Drugs.htm

“It’s Time to Legalize Marijuana”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2GG2aM6UII

Medical Interviews

http://www.testcountry.org/legalization-of-medical-marijuana.htm

Bibliography• All charts are from:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knBksWZg16U&feature=related• “It’s Time to Legalize Marijuana” video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2GG2aM6UII• http://www.drugwarfacts.org/cms/Economics• http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/14/us/14florida.html• http://legalizationofmarijuana.com/• http://marijuanatoday.com/cons.php• http://www.drugwatch.org/Against%20Legalization%20of%20Drugs.htm• http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/03/05/health/cbsdoc/main4845970.shtm

l?tag=contentMain;contentBody• http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/10/06/pot-legalization-measure-fails-draw-big

-money/• http://www.cnbc.com/id/36267223/Why_We_Should_Not_Legalize_Marijuana• http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=why+marijuana+should+stay+ill

egal&aq=f• http://www.testcountry.org/legalization-of-medical-marijuana.htm

QUESTION

• Should we:

1. Legalize Medical Marijuana?

2. Legalize both Medical and Recreational Marijuana?

3. Legalize neither?