Illegal Drugs - Marijuana

Arkansas taxpayers spend over $5,000,000 per year imprisoning persons for offenses involving marijuana. Possession of less than one ounce constitutes a misdemeanor and such offenses usually do not involve jail time. Possession of more than one ounce is assumed to be for sale, and felony charges may be brought by prosecutors. Growing even small amounts of marijuana for personal use is considered manufacture with intent to deliver and is prosecuted as a felony, as are the possession, manufacture, and/or sale of larger amounts.

About 45% of Arkansas drug arrests are for marijuana offenses. The majority of these arrests are for amounts less than one ounce. There is no current method by which to assess the cost of this practice.

Taxpayer costs include the salaries of arresting officers and the costs of their supporting agencies, the salaries of prosecutors who prosecute the charges, the salaries of public defenders, parole officers, probation officers, and the costs of construction, maintenance, and salaries involved in jail or prison time.

Taxpayers may pay further in providing social services to the offender and his/her family when the arrest results in loss of employment, inability to provide for legal defense, inability to provide family support, and loss of property in conjunction with such an arrest. Society also incurs the cost of the offender's lost income and productivity and taxes.

Many state laws are less harsh than Arkansas' laws for marijuana. Some states consider less than an ounce of marijuana not to be a violation. Most recently, Mendicino County, California, passed a law allowing persons to cultivate up to eleven marijuana plants per year as a personal supply.

Marijuana is the common name given to the Cannabis variety which produces intoxication. Intoxication occurs through the chemical effects of several substances contained in marijuana. The major intoxicating substance is THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol. The practice of using marijuana for intoxication or medical purposes can be found as early as 3000 BC.

Mild intoxication can be obtained by smoking or eating the leaves or flowering buds of a marijuana plant with THC levels as low as 3%. Street grade marijuana contains from 5% up to 10% THC, while high quality hybrid plants may produce as much as 20% THC. High THC marijuana may produce intoxication with as little as three inhalations, while low THC marijuana may require the smoking of an entire "joint" (marijuana cigarette) before the desired level of intoxication is obtained. A ceiling effect occurs in which the intoxication levels off and no further effects are obtained even with additional ingestion.

The desired effects of marijuana intoxication include relaxation and euphoria. Other effects, desired by some users, include appetite stimulation, digestive improvement, muscle relaxation, drowsiness, and relief of pain. Still other effects may include disorientation, speeding up or slowing down of time perception, impaired coordination, impaired short term memory and concentration, and, depending on the circumstances, paranoia.

The period and intensity of intoxication depends on the individual, the circumstances, and the potency of the marijuana. A typical marijuana "high" might last two or three hours, but effects of high potency marijuana may last up to six hours. Some users report impaired concentration the next day. Traces of residual THC metabolites may remain in the body for up to three weeks, but exert no psychoactive or physical effect.

Over 100 human studies have been conducted investigating the effects of marijuana. To date, marijuana has not caused human death, even in high dosages. Marijuana has not been shown to cause cancer, brain damage, or lung disease. Marijuana has not been found physically addictive, in that a person in heavy usage experiences only mild and transitory symptoms upon ceasing use. Unlike alcohol and opiate withdrawal, marijuana withdrawal may involve no symptoms whatsoever. However, persons may become psychologically dependent on the mood effects of marijuana. Such persons are considered habituated to the use of marijuana.

A study performed for the UK Department of the Environment, Transportation and the Regions by the Transport Research Laboratory, "The Influence of Cannabis on Driving," is available online. To read the study, click here.

The study concludes that though cannabis does have an effect on driving ability, that alcohol is much worse, and that marijuana users notice their impairment and compensate by driving slower and more carefully.

In Central Arkansas, efforts to reduce criminal penalties for small amounts of marijuana are coordinated by the Arkansas Chapter of NORML. Contact Glen Schwarz at normlschwarz@yahoo.com

In Northwest Arkansas, a 2006 voters’ initiative in Eureka Springs was passed requiring municipal enforcement of marijuana laws to be the lowest police priority. The University of Arkansas Chapter of NORML worked on that initiative, and also is working on a campus initiative that would require equal enforcement of alcohol and marijuana laws, under the acknowledged fact that marijuana is a safer drug than alcohol. For more information on political action projects in Northwest Arkansas, visit www.arkansasalliance.org