Posted on 02/27/2004 3:09:34 PM PST by Wolfie
Criminal Justice System Drives Marijuana "Treatment" Admissions, Federal Study Says
Washington, DC: Fewer than one in five people admitted to drug treatment for marijuana in 2001 did so voluntarily, and more than half were referred by the criminal justice system, according to statistics released recently by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Among the 255,000 individuals admitted to treatment in 2001 (the last year for which data is available) primarily for marijuana, 57 percent were referred by the criminal justice system. In many cases, these were first-time offenders arrested for marijuana possession, and given the option by a judge or drug court of entering drug treatment as an alternative to jail.
"The HHS data indicate that the dramatic rise in marijuana 'treatment' admissions over the past decade is primarily because of a proportional increase in individuals arrested on marijuana charges and referred to drug treatment in lieu of incarceration," NORML Foundation Executive Director Allen St. Pierre explained, noting that annual arrests for pot increased from 289,000 in 1991 to 724,000 in 2001. "This increase in marijuana 'treatment' admissions is not attributable to any significant changes in the number of individuals checking themselves into drug treatment because they are experiencing social or health consequences from their marijuana use, or exhibiting clinical symptoms of dependence from cannabis."
According to HHS, only 17.5 percent of those admitted for marijuana treatment in 2001 did so voluntarily, compared to 65 percent for heroin and 40 percent for cocaine. Other sources of marijuana treatment referrals included "substance abuse or other health care provider" (11 percent), "school" (4 percent), and "employer" (1.2 percent).
Among youth aged 12-17, well over 60 percent of those in drug treatment in 2001 were referred by the criminal justice system, up from approximately 37 percent in 1992. Among adolescents admitted to drug treatment primarily for marijuana, 54 percent were referred by the criminal justice system.
St. Pierre said that he is troubled by the dramatic rise in criminal justice referrals, stating that the increase in marijuana arrests is forcing judges to inappropriately use drug treatment clinics as temporary repositories for low-level marijuana offenders.
"A disturbing percentage of America's drug treatment resources are being siphoned off by recreational pot smokers who don't meet any scientific criteria for dependence, but instead have been mandated to attend treatment in lieu of jail," he said. "At a time when tens of thousands of hard drug addicts are being denied access to drug treatment due to a lack of bed space and federal funding, it is unconscionable that America's drug treatment centers are bursting at the seams by needlessly housing marijuana smokers."
Treatment data for marijuana and other drugs is available online: http://wwwdasis.samhsa.gov/teds01/TEDS2K1Index.htm
I remember a FR thread about "dramatic increases in MJ-related emergency admissions" around that time.
Legalize it now. So many GOOD lives have been destroyed, not by the plant, but by the WOD.
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