At the end of 2011, representatives of the federal government announced that the gloves were off and they would be stepping up efforts against medical marijuana across the board. This directly contradicted earlier assurances that the federal government had greater priorities than prosecuting medical marijuana users and purveyors operating legally under state law. Now that many states, operating under that assurance, have legalized medical marijuana and instituted medical marijuana programs, the federal government has decided to make stamping out legal marijuana businesses one of their top priorities. They have even resorted to strong-arm tactics such as threatening arrest and prosecution of government employees working to institute medical marijuana programs in states which have made it legal.
These increased efforts seem strange in light of growing public approval for marijuana. In 2011, for the first time, a 50% majority of Americans surveyed in a Gallup poll said they were for marijuana legalization, with only 46% against. Not medical marijuana legalization, but straight up legalization of marijuana. The number of those in favor of legalization only for medical purposes is much higher. So, if the vast majority of Americans are for the legalization of medical marijuana, why is the upper echelon so against it?
A close look at our broken "justice" system may offer some answers. The US prison population has been steadily on the rise since the mid-'70s, fueled by the failed "war on drugs." The US has by far the highest prison population in the world. There are more Americans in prison today than there were Russians at the height of Stalin's power! Approximately 743 out of every 100,000 Americans is currently in jail or prison. China has four times our general population and only about 70% of our prison population.
Almost all new prisons being built since the 90s have been private prisons. Despite repeated reports of lax security within private prison walls and other outrages, the private prison industry has exploded in past years. And now, Corrections Corporation of America, the largest for-profit prison business, is offering to buy up state prisons! In letters recently sent out to 48 states the corporation offered to purchase prisons as a solution to "challenging corrections budgets."
The most troubling thing about this trend is the moral question raised by profiting from the incarceration of others. Corrections Corporation's long-term contracts carry a provision that prisons must remain at least 90% full for the life of the agreement. Where is this constant stream of new prisoners coming from? "It's a self-fulfilling prophecy," says Shakyra Diaz, "In order to have it at 90 percent, you need to be able to make criminals to fill it at 90 percent."
The corporation even admits that their profitability relies heavily on the system remaining the same. "The demand for our facilities and services could be adversely affected by the relaxation of enforcement efforts, leniency in conviction or parole standards and sentencing practices or through the decriminalization of certain activities that are currently proscribed by our criminal laws," the company's most recent annual filing noted. "For instance, any changes with respect to drugs and controlled substances ... could affect the number of persons arrested, convicted, and sentenced, thereby potentially reducing demand for correctional facilities to house them." And they're not just talking about it, from 2003-2010 Corrections Corporation spent $14.8 million dollars on lobbying for stricter laws.
So, the next time you wonder why fighting for legalization seems like such an up hill battle, remember it's because rehabilitation and reform just aren't profitable!
