Tax Payers Are Spending $1 Billion Per Year On Pot Inmates

From the U.S. Department of Justice

Bureau of Justice Statistics

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2006

ETHAMPHETAMINE USE INCREASING AMONG STATE AND FEDERAL PRISONERS

WASHINGTON -- Prior methamphetamine use among state and federal prisoners has increased since 1997, according to a new report by the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). The use of methamphetamines in the month before an offense rose from 7 percent of state prisoners in 1997 to 11 percent in 2004. Methamphetamine use at the time of an offense rose from 4 percent to 6 percent during that period. Federal inmates reported similar increases in methamphetamine use.

Prisoner reports about drug use were collected as part of the BJS "Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities." This survey has been conducted periodically since the 1970s, and in 2004 involved confidential personal interviews with a nationally representative sample of approximately 14,500 state and 3,700 federal prisoners.

Women (17 percent of state inmates, 15 percent of federal inmates) were more likely than men (10 percent of both) to have used methamphetamines in the month before their offense. At least 20 percent of white inmates in state and federal prison used methamphetamine in the month before their offense, compared to 1 percent of black inmates. Among Hispanics, 12 percent of state and 5 percent of federal inmates reported methamphetamine use.

 

 

Drug seizures

Many Federal agencies are involved in the removal of illicit drugs from the market. The Federal-Wide Drug Seizure System (FDSS) contains information about drug seizures made within the jurisdiction of the United States by the FBI, DEA, U.S. Customs Service (USCS), and U.S. Border Patrol as well as maritime seizures made by the U.S. Coast Guard.

• the Federal government seized 16,270 illegal drug laboratories between fiscal years 1975 and 2003
• in fiscal year 2003, of the 420 labs seized, 409 (97%) manufactured methamphetamines
• in 2003 the DEA program for eradicating domestic marijuana resulted in the destruction of 3.4 million plants in 34,362 plots, 8,480 arrests, 4,176 weapons seized, and assets seized valued at $25.1 million.
  Source: Data provided by U.S. Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration as reported in the BJS, Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics 2003, NCJ 208756, July 2005. 

 

Technorati tags: Taxpayers, Pot, Inmates, DoJ

 

Airstrike Against Iran In Spring? Iranians Arrest Two al-Qaeda Operatives

The Guardian

February 10,2007

US preparations for an air strike against Iran are at an advanced stage, in spite of repeated public denials by the Bush administration, according to informed sources in Washington.

The present military build-up in the Gulf would allow the US to mount an attack by the spring. But the sources said that if there was an attack, it was more likely next year, just before Mr Bush leaves office.

   That would be a typical Bush Crime Family thing to do! Start another mess and then leave it for the new Democratic President to have to deal with. This is no surprise to anyone with an I.Q. over 1.

   Congress has to stop this mess and it has been acknowledged that they have the power to do so. Will they?

   On another note about Iran, we have this little piece of news from the Washington Post.

Last week, the CIA sent an urgent report to President Bush's National Security Council: Iranian authorities had arrested two al-Qaeda operatives traveling through Iran on their way from Pakistan to Iraq. The suspects were caught along a well-worn, if little-noticed, route for militants determined to fight U.S. troops on Iraqi soil, according to a senior intelligence official.

"There was real debate about all this," said one counterterrorism official. "If we go public, the Iranians could turn them loose." The official added: "At this point, we know where these guys are and at least they are off the streets. We could lose them for years if we go down this path."

   The Iranians are going to throw a wrench into Bush's plans one way or another. This would seem to debunk his rhetoric about Iran helping al-Qaeda. This could also be an Iranian ploy to avert attack by the Bush cowboys. Based on the Bush track record, I'll stick with the Iranians story, for now

 

Technorati tags: Iran, al-Qaeda, Bush