Marijuana Facts and Statistics

The following Marijuana Facts and Statistics were compiled from a variety of sources that are listed at the end of this article. Each fact or statistic is cited with an endnote, annotating which source it was from. At least 200,000 students in the US have been denied financial aid for college simply because of drug convictions on their records.j Marijuana is the most common illegal drug used in the United States with roughly 100 million Americans admitting to trying marijuana at least once. j 11.5% of Americans (more than 25 million) have smoked marijuana in the last year.f An individual would need to smoke 800 joints to die, according to one report. The cause of death would be poisoning from carbon monoxide.b Around 50,000 people die each year from alcohol poisoning, and more than 400,000 people die each year from causes related attributed to tobacco smoking.i According to the prestigious European medical journal, The Lancet, "The smoking of cannabis, even long-term, is not harmful to health. ... It would be reasonable to judge cannabis as less of a threat ... than alcohol or tobacco."i Every day roughly 6,000 Americans use marijuana for the first time, according to one national survey. f 22.6% of high school seniors in the US used marijuana in the past 30 days compared with 18.7% who smoked cigarette, according to 2011 data.l Cannabis plants can grow in nearly any ecosystem and average one to two inches of growth per day, and can grow up to 18 feet.a In Ancient China cannabis seeds were used as a food source as early as 6000 B.C. and as a medicinal drug as in 2737 B.C. by Chinese emperor Shen Nung. The emperor documented the drug’s effectiveness in treating the pains of rheumatism and gout.a A 1619 law required farmers to grow the hemp plant (marijuana). Once harvested, it was used to make clothing, rope, sails, and many more products.b The first two drafts of the United States Declaration of Independence were written on paper made from hemp.e The Controlled Substances Act of 1970 made it illegal to possess, use, buy, sell, or cultivate marijuana in the United States. The law classifies marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug, meaning it has a high potential for abuse and no acceptable medical use.f Marijuana was listed in the United States Pharmacopoeia as a useful medicine for nausea, rheumatism, and labor pains and could easily be purchased at the local general store or pharmacy, between 1850 to 1942.b The use of marijuana was often recommended as a replacement for alcohol during the temperance movement of the 1890s.b Canada was the first country in the world to allow doctors to prescribe pain suffering patients medical marijuana. They did it in 2003 Oregon was the first state to decriminalize marijuana. They did it in 1973.k In 1996, California became the first U.S. state to legally allow medical marijuana for patients with a valid doctor’s recommendation.c Although marijuana is still a controlled substance under federal law, 13 U.S. states currently have compassionate use laws in place, which allow for regulated medical marijuana use: AK, CA, CO, HI, ME, MI, MT, NV, NM, OR, RI, VT, and WA. An additional 17 states and the District of Columbia have legislated to recognize the value of medical marijuana but do not protect users from federal prosecution.c US taxpayers pay an estimated $10 billion annually on marijuana prohibition costs, to arrest more than 853,000 individuals per year.j The total number of individuals arrested for all violent crimes combined, including murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault,is less than the number of individuals arrested for marijuana related crimes.i Toughly 30 percent of the Americans arrested for marijuana violations were under the age of 19.i African Americans make up 67% of the prison population detained for drug offenses, while the demographic only accounts for 13% of illegal drug users.i Crippled by the war on drugs, the U.S. prison population is six to ten times higher than that of other Western European nations.