MARIJUANA PROHIBITION SEEN AS OVERWHELMING FAILURE

November's midterm elections included ballot measures in five states
that would either legalize or decriminalize marijuana. Even though
every measure failed, the results show that a substantial support
base for marijuana reform may exist and perhaps is ready to be heard.

In California voters rejected the idea of legalizing and taxing
marijuana represented by Proposition 19. However, 46 percent of
voters voted in favor of the measure.

Consider the 12 states that have already passed decriminalization
legislation, which converts small marijuana-related offenses from
criminal offenses to civil infractions or fines.

According to Keene State College Political Science Professor and N.H.
State Representative Chuck Weed, throwing marijuana-related offenders
in jail for a "victimless crime" is unacceptable.

"It is not unsafe; it hasn't killed anybody. All of the studies
suggest that it's certainly less addictive than alcohol, less
addictive than tobacco. No one has died from overdoses," Weed said.
"Yet, an awful lot of people have their lives ruined because of being
thrown in jail, and that isn't appropriate," he added.

Richard Van Wickler, Superintendent of the Cheshire County House of
Corrections, said the prohibition of marijuana-as well as all of the
other illicit drugs-is a failed policy, causing more problems and
harms than it alleviates.

"In my opinion, not only has it not been effective, but it's been a
cataclysmic failure and not only for New Hampshire, but for our
nation, and also as a global policy," Van Wickler said. "I don't
believe that you can find anybody in law enforcement, anybody in the
community, anybody anywhere, that would tell you that the war on
drugs is a success in any way."

Van Wickler, a member of the drug-reform organization called Law
Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), said that the organization
advocates legalization, comparing America's current drug prohibition
to the alcohol prohibition era of 1920 to 1933.

"It was the same experiment-make it illegal and the problems
associated will go away. Well, we all know that didn't happen and we
learned that prohibition fueled crime," Van Wickler said. "Drugs and
drug use is not problem. Prohibition is the problem," he said.

According to Van Wickler, the Drug Enforcement Agency found that 75
percent of gang violence in the United States is over illegal drug
marketplace disputes-"the same exact thing Al Capone was doing during
alcohol prohibition," he said. "What we learned is, if we legalize
the substance, we immediately take the profit away from the
criminals, the criminal enterprise, and they're no longer in control."

With any form of prohibition, the $320 billion a year drug industry
remains in a criminal marketplace. Because of this, Van Wickler said
LEAP does not advocate decriminalization because it doesn't solve
prohibitions problems and it "continues to leave the drug market in
the hands of criminals."

"LEAP does not advocate the use of drugs. I don't advocate the use of
drugs. I don't use drugs. I don't think anybody should use drugs.
But, the fact is, if you leave it in the hands of criminals, you're
going to consistently have the failures that we've seen over the last
40 years," he said.

According to Van Wickler, some major problems associated with
prohibition include the exploding prison population, excessive cost
to taxpayers, and a waste of resources.

He said in the United States, 1.8 million people have been arrested
for drug offenses, of which 850,000 are estimated to be non-violent offenders.

"The other statistic that's alarming is when you consider that 40
percent of the jails in the United States have been built in the last
25 years. And, violent crime is at a 30-year low," said Van Wickler.

In addition, he said that 50 percent of all criminal justice
resources go toward the drug war. "But, we don't fight rape, armed
robbery, extortion, embezzlement, or obesity to that degree," he said.

He also said that the United States is less committed to promoting
education as it is committed to the "war on drugs." Given the fact
that the State of California built 21 new prisons over a five-year
period while building only one new university over the same period,
he said the United States concentrates about $70 billion a year on
building correctional systems.

"If you say, 'I don't use drugs. My kids don't use drugs. My friends
don't use drugs. Why should I care about the drug war? The answer is,
you're paying for it," he said.

LEAP, according to Van Wickler, advocates for all out legalization
and government regulation to take the drug market away from the
criminal enterprises and to create a safer path for users to find and
use the drugs. By legalizing, he also said he thinks jails would be
far less congested and taxes would be cut dramatically.

"We know that 12 percent of the people that are incarcerated
committed their crime for the sole purpose they needed money for
drugs. So if drugs were affordable, regulated, clean, and people
could access them, it is a safe assumption that 12 percent of the
people that are in prison today wouldn't be. Now you've got the
850,000 that you arrest for possession that would not be there. So
quickly you can see the impact of what legalization would do," he said.

"We have to suppose that throughout the history of the world, there's
been a percentage of the population that has a propensity to get
wasted. That percentage has been constant. There's something about
altering our consciousness that, as a population, a percentage of us
are going to do, regardless of what the laws are," Van Wickler
said."I propose we accept that as a cultural norm-that a percentage
of the population is going to have a propensity to use these
substances. If we're humane about it, then we should provide a clean,
regulated substance," he said.

Dr. Peter Stevenson, a KSC sociology professor and former law
enforcement official, said that the enforcement aspects involved in
keeping marijuana prohibited seem to be a "waste of resources."

"We've increased enforcement. We've increased penalties. What have we
gotten for that? Nothing, really," said Stevenson, a proponent of
marijuana law reform. "The war on drugs, especially with marijuana
has sort of failed," he said.

Besides clogging America's jails, taking time and dedication from
enforcement agencies, and casually incinerating American taxpayers'
money, Stevenson said the war on drugs hasn't produced a substantial
return to its investors.

According to a 2005 report by The Sentencing Project, an estimated
$600 million of taxpayers' money is spent annually to keep marijuana
offenders in prison. Also according to the report, nearly 90 percent
of the estimated 27,900 people in state and federal prison sentenced
over a marijuana violation have no history of violence. According to
an Associated Press article published in May 2010, the U.S.
government has dedicated $121 billion to arrest more than 37 million
nonviolent drug offenders since 1970, of which 10 million offenders
were arrested for possessing marijuana. Last year, half of all
federal prisoners were serving sentences for drug convictions. The
Associated Press also reported that $450 billion was spent since 1970
just to keep those predominantly nonviolent, first-time drug
offenders in federal prisons.

"I'm more along the line of just outright legalization. You should
probably just be able to do whatever you want," Stevenson said.

What stands in the way? Stevenson said he thinks that a generation of
people, specifically law enforcement officials, was trained to hate
drugs. By adhering to their sworn oath to protect the state
constitution, those "drug warriors" remain vehemently allied against
marijuana reform. However, he also said the police officers that do
come to realize that the law is faulty are often pressured into
staying silent because of fears that speaking out will hurt their careers.

"I think privately, a lot of cops are for some kind of reform, but
they won't say anything because they won't get promoted," said
Stevenson. "Most cops take their sworn oath to enforce the
constitution very seriously even though they might not like what
they're doing."

John Stewart, Keene Police officer and KSC's liaison to the police
department said he thinks that decriminalizing marijuana in Keene
would cause more problems, especially among Keene's younger demographic.

"I think it's going to be more of an impact on the younger kids who
don't understand what the ramifications are from smoking marijuana,"
Stewart said.

According to a 2006 state drug profile done by the Office of National
Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), more than half of 11th and 12th grade
New Hampshire students said that they had tried marijuana at least
once in their lifetime. From the same study, nearly 45 percent of all
high school students-grades 9 to 12-say that they've tried marijuana
at least once.

Stewart also said that decriminalization efforts in Keene would cause
people to use it more frequently and use it more publicly."I think it
would probably cause more problems because people would engage in it
more. People would do it more openly," he said.

Then again, there have been studies finding that decriminalizing
marijuana did not impact the rate of use. For example, a 1999 report
in the Journal of Public Health Policy documented the effects of
marijuana decriminalization on 11 states that reduced the offense to
a fine between 1973 and 1978.

The study, authored by Eric Single, concluded that decriminalization
had no impact on rates of use, but "substantially reduced the costs
associated with the enforcement of marijuana laws."

Up to this point, no state governments have passed legislation that
legalizes marijuana. However, 12 states have passed decriminalization
bills and 15 states allow medicinal marijuana treatments. Neighboring
states such as Maine, Massachusetts, and New York are some of the
states that have already decriminalized marijuana.

Before the most recent attempt to decriminalize marijuana was
defeated last year in the State Senate, the New Hampshire legislature
rejected a similar decriminalization bill as well as a medical
marijuana bill in 2008-all of which included similar veto threats
from Governor John Lynch. For now, the possession of marijuana will
remain a criminal offense, which makes it difficult for convicted
marijuana offenders to find a good job and access financial aid for college.

According to Stewart, however, when he encounters a marijuana-related
offender, the penalties are dependent on a number of criteria. Things
like the history of the offender, the amount of marijuana in
possession, and the circumstances surrounding the arrest determine
how heavy the punishment will be.

"It depends on the totality of the circumstances. For example, I've
gone to dorm rooms where the kid is like, 'Hey, this is what I have.
I'm sorry.' That is going to weigh in on the outcome versus the
person who refuses to cooperate," Stewart said.

"The last thing we want to do is charge someone with marijuana
because it's a criminal offense," he said. "It screws up the rest of
their lives because then they have to check off, 'Yes, I've been
arrested for drugs' on applications."

Consequences on the federal level also include the Higher Education
Act's "one-strike and you're out" rule regarding convicted drug
offenders' access to federal student aid. However, Stewart said he
thinks people deserve a second chance.

"I'm of the viewpoint that everybody falls down. I don't agree with
the 'one-strike, you're out.' I think that there are different
circumstances," he said.

"I think it should be maybe 'two-strikes your out' instead of one. We
should at least say, 'You fell down. Get back up. Move in the right
direction.' Then again, if the federal government is going to give
you money, you have to follow the rules," Stewart said.

According to Stevenson, one of the major reasons that marijuana
prohibition will continue is the fact that corporate interests are at
stake. "Alcohol and tobacco companies have better lobby groups.
That's what it boils down to. These are corporate interests and
corporations are going to protect their interests," he said.

"If it weren't for the tobacco farmers, we wouldn't be sitting here
today talking about marijuana decriminalization," he said.

Van Wickler agreed, saying, "The largest drug dealer in the State of
New Hampshire is the State of New Hampshire because they own and
control all of the liquor stores. When you cross into New Hampshire,
the first sign that you see is 'Don't drink and drive.' The first
building you see is a liquor store. Any road that you take coming
into New Hampshire, that's the deal," he said.

"In New Hampshire, that's state revenue. They're not going to give it
up," Van Wickler said.