The pot issue

Sacramento searches for “marijuana” on the Web at an amazing rate. The most recent findings ranked Sacramento third in the world for “marijuana” searches—behind Honolulu (No. 2) and Portland. (No. 1). In the four years that Google’s been keeping stats, Sacramento has never been outside the top five.
Source: Google Trends

There are more than 200 nicknames for marijuana. Don’t just stick to pot, herb, grass, weed, Mary Jane and reefer. There’s always Aunt Mary, skunk, boom, gangster, kief, funk, bomb, chillums, tea or ganja. Then there are the “brand” names: sinsimilla, Kona, Texas tea, Indiana hay, Maui wowie, chiba chiba, Acapulco Gold and Panama Red. And don’t forget the tools and byproducts: Toklas (brownies made with pot or hash oil, named for Alice B. Toklas, lover of Gertrude Stein and chocolate-y goodness), hubbly bubbly or bong (water pipe), roach clips, pipes and stones. And everybody hates parkers and bogarts, don’t they?
Source: Office of National Drug Policy

Marijuana is the most frequently used drug in America. Almost half (47 percent) of adult Americans have smoked at least once, but only 5 percent are current users. Use is highest among teens and young adults; those aged 16 to 28 make up 60 percent of users.
Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

While African-Americans make up only 13.6 percent of marijuana users, 26 percent of the people arrested for marijuana possession are black.
Source: U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency

Once again, the Golden State is tops in agriculture. The major source of American-grown marijuana, California provides one-third of the domestic dope and account for two-thirds of the pot crop that’s eradicated from national forests.
Source: U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency

The older you are, the harder it is to get: One-third of those between the ages of 13 and 17 reported that pot was difficult to find or buy, while 52 percent of users over 50 years old had a hard time finding or buying the stuff.
Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Most marijuana sales are made within a small group of acquaintances. Of 4.5 million pot sales in 2002, almost a quarter of them were made by users under the age of 17. The 24- to 34-year-old age group sold almost—but not quite—as much pot.
Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Yeah, it really is more potent: A comparative survey of the strength of seized marijuana over the past two decades found that the amount of THC present in pot has more than doubled. The average amount of THC in marijuana seized in 1973 was 1.73 percent; in 2004, it was 5.8 percent. The highest THC content ever seized was from an indoor hydroponic pot farm in Oregon in 1997: 33.12 percent. A tincture of cannabis (marijuana oil) can have a THC content as high as 40 percent. Such tinctures legally were sold over-the-counter in American drugstores until the 1930s.
Source: University of Mississippi Marijuana Potency Monitoring Project

Hemp seed is nutritious—it contains proteins and essential fatty acids. In some places, porridge similar in consistency to oatmeal is made of hemp seed. The seeds themselves do not include the psychoactive ingredient found in the leaves and buds, so a hearty breakfast of hemp-seed porridge won’t get you high. But it might work wonders for your cognitive abilities.
Source: National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws

Marijuana contains more than 400 chemicals, 66 of which are cannaboids (found in plants in the cannabis family). Marijuana contains no nicotine. It will not help you quit smoking cigarettes. But it will make you not care if you have a cigarette or not.
Source: National Academy of Science

According to weed lore, there are 800 strains of marijuana. With names like Skunk Passion, Afghanica, and Celtic Cross, varieties can be purchased from seed companies via the Internet, typically from companies located outside the U.S. Some strains grow better indoors than outdoors and vice versa, though outdoor growing carries a greater risk (interdiction, anyone?). Plus, growers need to be smart enough to weed out the male plants—if they pollinate the female plants, you get seeds instead of the happy-making leaves and buds.
Source: National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws

While it’s true that many police departments use “codes” in radio communications, “420” is not a police code referring to marijuana use. Neither is it a penal code related to marijuana—in California, penal code 420 deals with hindering access to property. April 20 (abbreviated 4/20) is Hitler’s birthday and the anniversary of the Columbine school shooting, but neither of those has anything to do with marijuana. However, for some strange reason, 420—both the number and the date—has become associated with smoking marijuana. Whether 4:20 is the perfect time to get high or not, April 20 has become a significant date in cannabis culture—so significant that it’s no longer secret.
Source: Office of National Drug Control Policy

Varieties of cannabis have been used since ancient times for medicinal, spiritual and recreational purposes. In this country, the first regulation of marijuana began in the early 1930s, and the first federal regulation was the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937. This law required the payment of a tax for the production, sale or use of marijuana for medicinal purposes. It did not make marijuana illegal, but did successfully make it expensive and inconvenient. In the early 1940s, marijuana was removed from the U.S. Pharmacopoeia, the official authority for standards for all prescription and over-the-counter medicines, probably as a result of publicity that claimed marijuana was addictive and caused psychosis. With the passage in 1970 of the Controlled Substances Act, which classified marijuana as a Class I Controlled Substance, marijuana legally was lumped with heroin and LSD as a drug with a high possibility of abuse and no legitimate medical use. And there it sits.
Source: National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws

Studies in San Francisco, Oakland and Los Angeles found that the No. 1 reason cited for the use of medical marijuana was to treat complications arising from HIV/AIDS. The second most-frequent use of medical marijuana was chronic pain. All HIV/AIDS users reported that marijuana use reduced nausea and vomiting. Roughly two-thirds of those surveyed who were using medical marijuana where men in their 40s. Most of those who were using marijuana medically had used it recreationally on prior occasions.
Source: National Academy of Science

Scientists have identified a withdrawal syndrome associated with THC, the active ingredient in marijuana—but it is described as “mild and subtle” compared to other withdrawal syndromes and it occurred only in long-term, heavy daily users. Still, the presence of a withdrawal syndrome, as well as the evidence that marijuana users develop tolerance to the effects of THC, means that it is addictive. Not as addictive as heroin or alcohol. Not even as addictive as cigarettes or coffee. But addictive, nonetheless.
Source: National Academy of Science

A 1999 review of the available research by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Science found that there was evidence to support clinical studies in the use of marijuana to treat complications from HIV/AIDS (including wasting syndrome); as an analgesic and anti-vomiting treatment for cancer and other severe chronic-pain patients; and to treat some muscular and neurological disorders, such as multiple sclerosis. The review, published as Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base, also noted that the anti-anxiety and mood-elevating characteristics of marijuana could be beneficial for patients with these diseases. The report did not recommend use of marijuana for treatment of glaucoma because the relief of internal eye pressure was quite temporary and would require extremely high doses. In 2001, the American Medical Association also recommended “well-controlled studies of marijuana and related cannabinoids” as treatment for certain medical conditions and diseases. None of these suggested studies have been done.
Source: National Academy of Science

According to a 2005 economic study by Jeffrey A. Miron, a visiting professor at Harvard University, legalizing marijuana would save $7.7 billion per year in government-enforcement costs. It also would provide tax revenue of $6.2 billion per year if it were taxed at rates similar to alcohol and tobacco. Yep, that’s billions. In California, we’d save $22.1 million in law-enforcement expenses and gain $105 million in tax revenue (if the pot taxes were, like alcohol and tobacco taxes, distributed based on consumption).
Source: National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws

Ummm, you know all those people in prison for pot? Well, there aren’t that many of them. People incarcerated in state prisons for marijuana offenses only (which means for sale or transportation for sale, since possession isn’t usually a felony) account for .07 percent of the prison population. Those other marijuana offenders? They had other charges in addition to the weed charges.
Source: U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency

Law enforcement is seizing more marijuana than people are using! In 2000, law enforcement seizures totaled 2.7 million pounds o’ pot; estimated consumption of marijuana by U.S. users was 2.3 million pounds. In spite of these seizures, the average price of marijuana continues to decline from its all-time high in 1991. Prices for marijuana in 2002 were roughly the same (adjusted for inflation) as prices in 1983. Talk about a bargain!
Source: Office of National Drug Policy