"LE is interested in users and dealers alike. There are a ton of users-only in federal prison as we speak."
I'd be mighty curious where that information comes from.
In my state, drug possession, not for sale, would be a state offense, not federal, first of all.
And for a first offense, the defendant would most likely be sentenced to some fine, some probation and some kind of drug diversion program.
Maybe Florida is a real tough state, for first time offenders, for possession, not for sale. You tell me.
And be sure to dial me into how it gets to be a federal offense, federal prison.
Here's the link to DOJ statistics on federal drug offenders:
* 65% of those charged during 1999 had previously been arrested; 28% had 5 or more prior arrests. Half of those charged had previously been convicted; a third of
a felony.
Some key points:
* Between 1984 and 1999, the number of defendants charged with a drug offense in the Federal courts increased from 11,854 to 29,306.
* Of the 38,288 suspects referred to U.S. attorneys during 1999, 31% were involved with marijuana; 28%, cocaine powder;
15%, crack cocaine; 15%, methamphetamine; 7%, opiates; and 3%, other drugs.
* 65% of those charged during 1999 had previously been arrested; 28% had 5 or more prior arrests. Half of those charged had previously been convicted; a third of
a felony. (i.e., first-time offenders in federal cases: more than a third of federal cases have never been arrested; half have never been convicted)
* 32% of federal court criminal cases are drug offenses.
Table 2 shows breakdown of evaluated offenses, based on the most serious offense with which the subject was suspected. The use-only offenses are "simple possession" and "general drug trafficking" (the latter is the charge for having a certain amount of drugs, as alleged - but not proven - with Rush. Prosecutors call this "intent to distribute" -- people who are actually charged with drug distribution are *not* in this category). In 1999, 785 people were considered for federal prosecution for simple possession; 59.8% of these for marijuana alone. 26,838 were considered for "general trafficking," i.e., possession of a certain amount (I think the amount for mj is half an oz or more); more than a third of these were for mj alone.
Figure 2 shows that more than 90% of people considered for simple possession in federal court were charged. Figure 3 shows that people accused of marijuana and opiate offenses were most likely to be charged.
Table six shows that 1038 people in 1999 went to federal prison for simple possession -- average term was 15.8 months. 16,618 went to federal prison for "general trafficking" (the charge Rush would be subject to if he were prosecuted in federal court, if it's true he was stockpiling pills). Average sentence was 72 months.
I don't know why some people are charged in the federal system rather than more lenient state systems; but the trends show federal rather than state drug charges are increasing steadily.
One more item, from a recent Fox News article: Walters called the Dutch drug model — which targets dealers and producers rather than users — "not sustainable."
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,98436,00.html