Gettman Study: Bush marijuana policy has failed

The latest study by Jon Gettman at DrugScience.org documents what we all know: adult marijuana prohibition does not work – even when measured by the prohibitionist’s own standards.  In 2002, the Bush Administration laid out their two-year goal, a 10% reduction in illegal drug use, and a five-year goal, a 25% reduction in illegal drug use.  Gettman lays out the case for their failure using their own statistics.

The Bulletin of Cannabis Reform
1. Failure to Reduce Marijuana Use

The Bush Administration has failed to reduce or control marijuana use in the United States. Marginal changes in marijuana and other drug use have been distorted to support inflated claims of progress in reducing marijuana and other drug use. Marijuana use is fundamentally the same as when the Bush Administration took office, and illicit drug use overall has increased.

• In 2007 there were 14.5 million current users of marijuana in the United States, compared with 14.6 million in 2002. From 2002 to 2007 annual use of marijuana declined slightly from 25.9 to 25.1 million. The number of Americans who have used marijuana at some point in their lives actually increased, from 95 million in 2002 to over 100 million in 2007.

• Teenage marijuana use remains a serious problem in the United States. One in nine (12%) 14- and 15-year-olds and one in four (23.7%) 16- and 17-year-olds used marijuana in 2007.

• There were 35.7 million annual illicit drug users in the United States in 2007, 14.4% of the population. Individuals who only use marijuana account for 41% of all annual illicit drug users. While 10.5 million people used marijuana and at least one other illegal drug (29% of all illicit drug users), there were 10.6 million people (30%) who used illegal drugs but did not use marijuana.

• There were 472,000 12- and 13-year-olds and 627,000 14- and 15-year-olds who did not use marijuana in 2006 but still used illegal drugs. Nearly half of these individuals used inhalants and illegally obtained pain relief drugs.

2. Diversion of Treatment Resources

Increases in drug treatment admissions for marijuana, often cited by officials as evidence that marijuana is dangerously addictive, are driven by criminal justice policies rather than medical diagnosis. These policies increase public costs for providing drug treatment services and reduce funds for and availability of treatment of more serious drug problems.

• The percentage of admissions in which marijuana was the primary substance of abuse referred by the criminal justice system increased from 48% in 1992 to 58% in 2006.

• When marijuana was the primary substance of abuse, just 45% of the admissions met the DSM criteria for marijuana dependence.

• Almost three-fifths (58%) of all admissions involving marijuana also involved alcohol, and where marijuana was the primary substance of abuse alcohol was an additional factor in 47%.

• Non-intensive outpatient treatment is the most likely treatment for patients in which marijuana is the primary substance of abuse, accounting for 68% of these admissions. Use of residential detox — a clear sign of a serious addiction problem — is used for 24% of heroin admissions and 21% of alcohol admissions, but just 2% of marijuana admissions.

• Government programs will pay for the treatment of 62% of admissions where marijuana is the primary substance of abuse, and 60% of the admissions referred by the criminal justice system. In thousands of cases, taxpayers appear to be funding treatment for non-addicts whose only problem is that they got caught with marijuana.