Average prison sentence for first-degree marijuana possession (involving a prior conviction or first offense with 2.2 pounds or more) in Alabama: 8.4 years.
Average prison sentence for felony DUI conviction in Alabama: 4.8 years.
Alabama’s ranking in the U.S. for alcohol-related traffic fatalities (2006): 8 of 50.
Number of U.S. alcohol-related deaths annually: 105,000.
Number of U.S. drug-overdose deaths in 2005: 33,000
Average number of U.S. aspirin-overdose deaths annually: 500.
Number of Americans who die every year from THC overdose: O.
Percentage of alcohol-related cases among all U.S. substance-related ER visits: 27.
Percentage involving cannabis use: Less than 2.
Worst U.S. state to be pulled over with a kilo of cannabis in the trunk: Mississippi (maximum prison sentence: 16 years).
Marijuana possession arrests in New York City from 1987-1996: 30,000.
Marijuana possession arrests in New York City from 1997-2006: 353,000.
Year marijuana use peaked in New York City: 1980.
Number of Americans arrested in 1990 for marijuana: 326,850.
Number arrested in 1990 for violent crimes: 705,500
Number arrested in 2007 for marijuana: 872,721.
Number arrested in 2007 for violent crimes: 597,447.
Number of Americans arrested for marijuana by the time you finish reading this: 1.
Chance of the arrestee being African American: 1 in 4.
Chance of a U.S. marijuana user picked at random being African American: 1 in 10.
Chance of the arresting officer being a federal agent: 1 in 100.
Percentage of U.S. marijuana arrests being for simple possession: 88.
Number of U.S. citizens in prison for marijuana offenses in 2005: 27,000.
Annual cost of enforcing U.S. marijuana prohibition laws: $10 billion to $12 billion.
Percentage of Amsterdam residents who say they’ve used cannabis: 30.
Percentage of Americans who say they’ve used cannabis: 47.
Ratio of Americans who support medical access to cannabis: 3-4.
THC percentage in average hemp plant: Less than 1.
Annual percentage of DEA-eradicated marijuana plants that are actually hemp plants: 98.
