ability and use. The FactMarijuana arrests in the United States doubles between 1991 and 1995. In 1995, more than one-half million people were arrested for marijuana offenses. Eighty-six percent of them were arrested for marijuana offenses. Eighty-six percent of them were arrested for marijuana possession. Tins of thousands of people are now in prison for marijuana offenses. An even greater number are punished with probation, fines, and civil sanctions, including having their property seized, their driver’s licenses revoked, and their employment terminated. Despite these civil and criminal sanctions, marijuana continues to be readily available and widely used.The Myth: Dutch law, which allows marijuana to be bought, sold, and used openly, has resulted in increasing rates of marijuana use, particularly among youth.The FactThe Netherlands’ Drug Policy Is the most Non-punitive In Europe. For more than twenty years, Dutch citizens over age eighteen have been permitted to buy and use cannabis (marijuana and hashish) in government-regulated coffee shops. This policy has not resulted indramatically escalating cannabis use. For most age groups, rates of marijuana use in the Netherlands are similar to those in the United States. However, for young adolescents, rates of marijuana use are lower in the Netherlands that in the U.S. The Dutch people overwhelmingly approve of current cannabis policy, which seeks to normalize rather than dramatize cannabis use. The Dutch government occasionally revises existing policy, but it remains committed to decriminalization. (pg.49)Zimmer, L. & Morgan, J.P. Marijuana Myths, Marijuana Facts New York: NY: Lindesmith Center, 1997In 1972, President Nixon’s Shafer Commission concluded that for marijuana users, the harm of an arrest was significantly greater than the harm from using marijuana. It recommended that state and federal laws be changed to remove criminal penalties for ̶...
