THE 5 WORST STATES TO GET BUSTED WITH POT

Even a minor pot bust can be life-altering for people unlucky enough
to be arrested in one of these five states.

Police prosecute over 800,000 Americans annually for violating state
marijuana laws. The penalties for those busted and convicted vary
greatly, ranging from the imposition of small fines to license
revocation to potential incarceration. But for the citizens arrested
in these five states, the ramifications of even a minor pot bust are
likely to be exceptionally severe.

1. Oklahoma. Lawmakers in the Sooner State made headlines this spring
when legislators voted 119 to 20 in favor of House Bill 1798, which
enhances the state sentencing guidelines for hash manufacturing to a
minimum of two years in jail and a maximum penalty of life in prison.
(Mary Fallin, the state's first-ever female governor, signed the
measure into law in April; it takes effect on November 1, 2011.) But
longtime Oklahoma observers were hardly surprised at lawmakers'
latest "life for pot" plan. After all, state law already allows
judges to hand out life sentences for those convicted of cannabis
cultivation or for the sale of a single dime-bag.

Patricia Marilyn Spottedcow, 25, learned the truth about Oklahoma's
excessive pot penalties the hard way in February when a judge
sentenced the mother of four to 30 years in prison for her role in
the sale of $39 worth of herb to an undercover informant.
Spottedcow's sentence sparked national media attention - and public
outrage - but neither result has led the judge in the case to
reconsider the terms of her confinement.

Similarly harsh sentences for pot are par for the course in the
Sooner State. Paraplegic Jimmy Montgomery was sentenced to life in
prison - later reduced to 10 years - after being caught with two
ounces of medical pot in his wheelchair. After considerable public
outcry, Montgomery was eventually granted early release on medical
parole - though he later lost a leg from an ulcerated bed sore he
developed while in prison. Rheumatoid arthritis patient Will Foster -
convicted of marijuana cultivation in 1997 - received a similarly
draconian 93-year sentence, later reduced to 20 years on appeal.
Foster was eventually paroled and moved to California, where he
quickly registered as a legal medi-pot patient. However, in 2009 he
was extradited back to Oklahoma to serve additional time behind bars.

Overall, some 13,000 Oklahomans are busted for pot annually. Only 12
other states arrest a greater percentage of their population for
weed, and arguably no state sentences those convicted more harshly.

2. Texas. On an annual basis, no state arrests and criminally
prosecutes more of its citizens for pot than does Texas. Marijuana
arrests comprise over half of all annual arrests in the Lone Star
State. It is easy to see why. In 2009, more than 97 percent of all
Texas marijuana arrests -- over 77,000 people -- were for possession
only. Those convicted face up to 180 days in jail and a $2,000 fine,
even upon a first conviction.

Despite Texas' dubious distinction as the #1 pot prosecuting state in
America, police and lawmakers have little interest in exploring
alternatives. In 2007, former Gov. Rick Perry signed legislation (HB
2391) into law granting police the option of issuing a summons in
lieu of an arrest in minor marijuana possession cases. Yet aside from
police in Austin, long considered to be the state's lone bastion of
liberalism, law enforcement have continued to fervently make arrests
in even the most trivial of pot cases.

In 2011, Houston Democrat Harold Dutton introduced House Bill 458,
which sought to reduce penalties for the adult possession of one
ounce or less of marijuana to a Class C misdemeanor, punishable by a
fine not exceeding $500 and no criminal record. Within weeks, over
2,500 Texans contacted their House members in support of the measure.
Nonetheless, House lawmakers refused to even consider bringing the
measure to a vote.

3. Florida. According to a 2009 state-by-state analysis by researcher
and former NORML Director Jon Gettman, no other state routinely
punishes minor marijuana more severely than does the Sunshine State.
Under Florida law, marijuana possession of 20 grams or less (about
two-thirds of an ounce) is a criminal misdemeanor punishable by up to
one-year imprisonment and a $1,000 fine. Marijuana possession over 20
grams, as well as the cultivation of even a single pot plant, are
defined by law as felony offenses - punishable by up to five years in
prison and a $5,000 fine. In recent years, state lawmakers have
revisited the state's marijuana penalties - in each case electing to
enhance Florida's already toughest-in-the-nation criminal punishments.

Ironically, despite the Sunshine State's long history as one of the
nation's stiffest pot prosecutors, law enforcement have steadfastly
refused to report their annual marijuana arrest data to the Federal
Bureau of Investigation. Illinois is the only other state that elects
to withhold this information from federal statisticians.

4. Louisiana. On May 6 the Associated Press reported on the case of
Cornell Hood II, who received a life sentence for possessing two
pounds of pot. Hood received the maximum sentence under Louisiana's
habitual drug offender law because he had three prior marijuana
convictions, although none of them were significant enough to result
in even a single day of jail time.

Multi-decade sentences for repeat pot offenders are hardly a rare
occurrence. Under Louisiana law, a second pot possession conviction
is classified as a felony offense, punishable by up to five years in
prison. Three-time offenders face up to 20 years in prison. According
to a 2008 expose published in the New Orleans City Business online,
district attorneys are not hesitant to "target small-time marijuana
users, sometimes caught with less than a gram of pot, and threaten
them with lengthy prison sentences."

Each year, cops make nearly 19,000 pot busts in the Bayou State -
some 91 percent for simple possession - and according to Gettman,
only three other states routinely punish minor offenders so severely.

5. Arizona. Forty years ago virtually every state in the nation
defined marijuana possession as a felony offense. Today, only one
state, Arizona, treats first-time pot possession in such an archaic
and punitive manner.

Under Arizona law, even minor marijuana possession offenses may be
prosecuted as felony crimes, punishable by up to 18 months in jail
and a $150,000 fine. According to Jon Gettman's 2009 analysis only
Florida consistently treats minor marijuana possession cases more severely.

Annually, some 22,000 Arizonans are busted for pot and 92 percent of
those arrested are charged with possession only. Citing the rising
costs of these prosecutions at a time of shrinking state budgets,
first-term GOP House lawmaker John Fillmore (Apache Junction)
recently introduced legislation, HB 2228, to reduce pot possession to
a non-criminal petty offense, punishable by no more than a $100 fine.
So how did his supposedly "small government, no nanny state"
colleagues respond to his proposal? With "a lot of smiles and
laughs," Fillmore told the Phoenix New Times. Predictably, HB 2228
failed to even receive a legislative hearing from his fellow lawmakers.

For a comprehensive breakdown of state-by-state marijuana penalties,
visit NORML's online map. Jon Gettman's 2009 analysis, "The Marijuana
Policy Almanac: Marijuana Arrests in the United States," is available online.