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Taxpayers for Common Sense Says Feds Fail To Influence Public Use, Perception Of Marijuana
Norml.org | 7/7/2005

Washington, DC -- Federal spending on marijuana-related activities - primarily enforcing criminal policies prohibiting the drug's use - cost taxpayers nearly $4 billion annually, but fail to influence the public's use or perception of the drug, according to an economic report released by the non-partisan Washington, DC think-tank Taxpayers for Common Sense.

"Annual federal marijuana spending is at least $3.67 billion [per year,] yet little evidence indicates this spending accomplishes the government's stated goal of reducing marijuana use," concludes the report.

Of this total cost, the federal government spends $1.43 billion enforcing marijuana prohibition, $1.11 billion for marijuana use prevention (which includes funding for anti-drug media campaigns and school-based drug Testing programs), $0.37 billion for marijuana treatment (which includes federal subsidies for drug abuse treatment programs), and $0.76 billion for marijuana-related policy research (funding for activities designed to improve the efficacy of federal drug control policies.)

The report notes that the actual federal spending on marijuana-related policies is likely higher than $3.67 billion because the federal government no longer includes annual costs from federal agencies and programs that are not explicitly devoted to anti-drug activities (such as federal prison costs, salaries for federal law enforcement personnel, etc.).

State and local spending on anti-marijuana programs and activities weren't tabulated in the report. Previous estimates published by the NORML Foundation and others place these costs at between $5 and $7 billion per year.

"The ultimate measure of The Drug War's worth is its impact on drug usage. By this standard, the federal marijuana program has fared poorly," said Taxpayers for Common Sense Senior Policy Analyst Erich Zimmermann. "Despite spending billions of dollars over the years to enforce the prohibition of marijuana, use and perception of the drug are little different now than they were 30 years ago. ... Rather than continue to spend billions of dollars on the problem, it would be better for the US government to get out of the marijuana business entirely."

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pheadrus

daltron

"the federal government spends $1.43 billion enforcing marijuana prohibition"

Note the word prohibition.....a word that should be used more often....maybe to help remind some people that MJ was once legal.......and maybe it is time to lift the prohibition like they have done on alcohol.........after all who today remembers or even knows that our first president Gen George Washington was a pot head who wrote 3 books about MJ...all while giving birth to a nation....on how best to grow it and use it..........or Thomas "Appleseed" Jefferson who spread hemp seeds where ever he went....saying that hemp was the future of America

yes it was our fore fathers who went to war so that we the people could enjoy our God given rights in the pursuit of happiness......well now that right has been taken away from us just like soo many other simple rights have been taken away.......soon there will be nothing more to take from us and thier {US goverment} control over the people will be complete.....what then will they take from us......Daltron

ChronicSmoke7

NExt they will take your life and its already happening, America is a police state. It is a police state, the only reason people do not know this is because it hasn't been enforced yet, its all legal just study the U.N., once another terrorist attack happens say good bye to America as you know it.