Illegal Drugs and the Economy
Sami Gordon, Sammi Langer, and
Maty Beraja
POT QUIZ!
1. Today, marijuana grows all over the
world, but where is the cannabis
plant found indigenously?
a) Central and South Asia
b) the Americas
c) Eastern Europe
d) Central Africa
Answer:
b) Central America
The presence of cannabis seeds charred more
than 5,000 years ago at an ancient burial site in
present-day Romania attests to long human use
of the drug. Cannabis was also used by ancient
Hindus and Nihang Sikhs of India and Nepal
thousands of years ago
2. Which of the following plants is
most closely related to cannabis?
a) tobacco
b) coca
c) Sage
d) hops
Answer:
d) hops
The common hop (Humulus lupulus)
and the 3 species of cannabis
(Cannabis sativa, indica, and
ruderalis) are members of the
Cannabaceae family
3. How was cannabis used by the
Office of Strategic Services, a World
War II-era US intelligence agency?
a) as a gateway drug
b) to assassinate targets
c) as a truth serum
d) to frame political enemies
Answer:
c) as a truth serum
The Office of Strategic Services was an intelligence agency
formed during World War II. At their lab at St. Elizabeths
Hospital in Washington, D.C., a concentrated form of
marijuana was deemed the most effective "truth serum"
available. In 1943, the drug was given via cigarettes to
Augusto Del Gracio, an enforcer with New York mafia boss
Lucky Luciano, who subsequently revealed details of the
group's heroin-selling operation.
4. Which was the first state to
decriminalize possession of
marijuana?
a) Michigan
b) California
c) Oregon
d) Vermont
Answer:
c) Oregon
In 1973, Oregon made the possession
of one ounce or less of marijuana a
violation (not a crime) punishable by
a fine up to $1,000
5. Which state allows for medical
use of marijuana?
a) Florida
b) Montana
c) Illinois
d) all of the above
Answer:
b) Montana
Medical use of marijuana was
approved by Montana voters in a
2004 ballot initiative
6. What year was marijuana made
illegal in the United States?
a) 1904
b) 1920
c) 1937
d) 1954
Answer:
c) 1937
Over the objections of the American Medical
Association, the Marihuana Tax Act was signed into
law on Aug. 2, 1937. It did not directly outlaw
cannabis. Rather, it imposed a tax that effectively
made it illegal to distribute it. The act was
subsequently supplanted by other laws regulating the
drug, and it was eventually ruled unconstitutional and
repealed in 1970.
7. According to the European Monitoring
Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction,
which country has the highest per capita
lifetime cannabis use?
a) Canada
b) Netherlands
c) Spain
d) US
Answer:
a) Canada
8. Which states have marijuana initiatives
on the ballot in November?
a) Massachusetts, California, North Carolina, and
Oregon
b) Vermont, Arizona, North Carolina, and Delaware
c) Florida, California, Illinois, and Michigan
d) California, Arizona, South Dakota, and Oregon
Answer:
d) California, Arizona, South
Dakota, and Oregon
As the Monitor reported on Oct. 1, California's ballot
initiative would legalize marijuana. Arizona and South
Dakota have initiatives that would allow medical
marijuana use, and Oregon would regulate medical
marijuana with nonprofit pharmacies.
9. According to the National Survey on Drug
Use and Health, what percentage of teens
between 12 and 17 used marijuana in 2009?
a) between 0 and 5 percent
b) between 5 and 10 percent
c) between 10 and 15 percent
d) between 15 and 20 percent
Answer:
b) between 5 and 10 percent
According to the survey, from 2002 to 2007,
past-month marijuana use among those
ages 12 to 17 generally decreased from 2002
to 2005, remained constant between 2005
and 2007, and then increased from 2007 to
2009.
10. According to 2006 and 2007 National
Surveys on Drug Use and Health, which state
has the highest per capita marijuana use for
people age 12 or older?
a) California
b) Rhode Island
c) Vermont
d) Colorado
Answer:
b) Rhode Island
Drug Enforcement
around the world
America’s War on Illegal Drugs
• Prescription drugs
• the combined total opiates (heroin/opium)
market= $65 billion per year
• Legalization= saving roughly $41.3 billion per
year
http://www.drugwarfacts.org/cms/Economics
Prescription Drugs
• Florida lacks enforcement
• 168,900 deaths statewide
• 38 other states have approved prescription
drug monitoring programs that track sales
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/14/us/14florida.html
Law Enforcement
• $574 million + $114 million + $412 million= 1.1
billion
• In 2000: 734,000 arrests
• In 1990: 5.9 million arrests
• Marijuana does not cause brain damage, genetic
damage, or damage the immune system.
• +1 billion dollars per year to incarcerate its citizens
for pot
• 9.4 billion in 2000 to imprison close to 500,000
people
http://legalizationofmarijuana.com/
11. An ABC News poll in January showed what
percentage of Americans in favor of legalizing
medical marijuana?
a) 26 percent
b) 39 percent
c) 68 percent
d) 81 percent
Answer:
d) 81 percent
Legalizing Illegalizing
• Save government $7.7
billion
• Large tax revenue
• Help stabilize the
economy
• Bring in $6.2 billion
dollars
• Profit would go to
government
• Reduce drug related
crimes
• Medical advantages
•
•
•
•
•
Morally incorrect
Intoxicating effects
Increase availability
More Crime
Fear of getting into
trouble
http://www.drugwatch.org/Against%
20Legalization%20of%20Drugs.htm
“It’s Time to Legalize Marijuana”
http://www.youtube.com/w
atch?v=h2GG2aM6UII
Medical
Interviews
http://www.testcountry.org/legalizatio
n-of-medical-marijuana.htm
Bibliography
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
All charts are from:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knBksWZg16U&feature=related
“It’s Time to Legalize Marijuana” video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2GG2aM6UII
http://www.drugwarfacts.org/cms/Economics
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/14/us/14florida.html
http://legalizationofmarijuana.com/
http://marijuanatoday.com/cons.php
http://www.drugwatch.org/Against%20Legalization%20of%20Drugs.htm
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/03/05/health/cbsdoc/main4845970.shtml
?tag=contentMain;contentBody
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/10/06/pot-legalization-measure-fails-draw-bigmoney/
http://www.cnbc.com/id/36267223/Why_We_Should_Not_Legalize_Marijuana
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=why+marijuana+should+stay+ille
gal&aq=f
http://www.testcountry.org/legalization-of-medical-marijuana.htm
QUESTION
• Should we:
1. Legalize Medical Marijuana?
2. Legalize both Medical and Recreational
Marijuana?
3. Legalize neither?