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The Effects of the Current

Recession on Crime in America

By: Dane C. Noeding

Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of

the Requirements for a Degree in

Writing

Option: Journalism/Freelance

May 11, 2010

WRT 465/Thesis Advisor: Dr.

John Briggs

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Table of Contents

Abstract:……………………………………… Pg. 3

Article #1: …………………………………..Pgs. 4-9

Article#2: …………………………………Pgs. 10-18

Article#3:………………………………… Pgs. 19-31

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Abstract

The following collection of articles examines the effects of the down turn in the

American economy on crime. Through various personal interviews and research

achieved through news articles, books, national institutions and televised specials

this thesis has been broken into three journalistic pieces. The first article analyzes

the broken corrections system in combination with the lack of jobs that have

resulted from the current recession. The Manufacturing industry is one of the few

that welcomes ex-offenders and nearly 2.8 million manufacturing jobs have been

lost since 2001, drastically affecting the amount of people who reoffend. The

second article analyzes the shift in crime to technological crimes. Robberies and

burglaries are down even in places that the recession has hit the hardest, but

internet scams are running rampant, ripping off everyone, including an elderly

New Milford, Conn. woman. The third and final article is a historical contrast to

the prohibition of alcohol during the 20’s and early 30’s and America’s current

prohibition of marijuana in correlation to their impact on crime. The article also

analyzes what a marijuana legalized nation would do to the American economy

considering it is already America’s number one cash crop.

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The Revolving Door

When Nicholas Moretti was released from the Bridgeport Correctional Center in

2008 he had big plans to save up money to start his own business.

He was arrested for intent to sell marijuana, and a year away had seemed like an

eternity to him. Now his son was three years old and he vowed to earn his money

legitimately. Luckily a friend lined him up a kitchen preparation job with a local

restaurant. The job wasn’t much, but the $450 weekly pay check was enough to

pay the bills and help support his son.

Things seemed to be on track for Moretti, but like many other businesses in the

service industry, the effects of the recession started to take hold and business

became slower and slower at the restaurant. Eventually the owner had to let him

go after working there for only four months.

He searched the classifieds daily with no luck and applied to over 20 jobs within

the first month of being laid off. The lack of available work was bad, but having a

criminal record made it worse.

“I would find a handful of jobs that I was qualified for, and I would go down and

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fill out the applications. Then the manager or owner looking at it would see that

question. The one I dreaded to answer: have you ever been convicted of a crime?

It was as if I was immediately disqualified”, said Moretti.

Four months after being laid off and countless interviews later, Moretti still hadn’t

found a job. At this point things were only getting worse for him. He was two

months behind on his child support, a month behind on his rent, and to top things

off, his vehicle registration and insurance had expired.

One morning on the way to an interview he was stopped by a police officer for

not signaling a turn. The officer took his information and went back to the car.

Only a moment later he returned and told Moretti his car had to be towed for

being unregistered and uninsured, not to mention the summons to court.

Now with no means of transportation it seemed even more impossible to find a

job. One week after losing his car he was evicted from his apartment and Moretti

found himself lugging his belonging in a black garbage bag to a different place

every night not knowing where he would sleep.

“At this point I felt I had no choice. I knew the money in the drug game was good

so I started back up,” said Moretti.

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Many men and women enter the door of the American justice system for breaking

the law. They go to prison or jail, do their time and most get out with the hope of

successfully reintegrating into society. The reality of this matter is that the door of

the American justice system seems to be revolving.

There are over 19 thousand individuals currently incarcerated in Connecticut, a

265 percent increase since 1985. Not only has the prison population grown over

the years, but the state’s corrections budget has as well to accommodate the

increase in prisoners. The state now spends more money on corrections than on

education.

A study conducted by the Connecticut Justice Education Center revealed that after

release 38 percent of offenders were rearrested within 12 months, 57 percent

within 24 months and 65 percent within 36 months. On a national level about 50

percent of offenders return to prison within six years of release.

With the rates of re-arrest so high one must wonder, why? Are these individuals

not being rehabilitated while incarcerated or is there simply no room in our

society for an ex-convict workforce when times are hard?

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Professor of Criminal Justice at Western Connecticut State University Dr. Frank

Muska thinks it is a combination of the two.

“Since the Reagan years, our society has been trying to punish its way out of

crime, and it simply doesn’t work,” stated Muska. “When you let individuals out

of the system without addressing the root of their problems they will most likely

end up back in prison.”

Simply put, there is no expectation of behavioral change from inmates. Offenders

do their time and are then released back into society with no money and the

expectation to make it.

With over 3.5 million jobs lost in the past year finding one with a criminal record

has become like finding a needle in a haystack. Unfortunately many employers

stigmatize former offenders, viewing them as untrustworthy.

According to Workforce Alliance, a private company that assists ex-offenders

seeking employment, says that ex-offenders are most likely to find work in

manufacturing, construction, and trade apprenticeship.

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The problem is all of these fields have been drastically affected by the recession.

From 2001 to 2009 nearly 2.8 million manufacturing jobs have been lost and

nearly 65,000 construction jobs just in August of 2009.

“Seeking employment is a key factor in ensuring an ex-offender won’t offend

again. A job not only provides income but acts as an anchor in society that makes

individuals adhere to certain norms,” said Patricia Bowers, a former Connecticut

probation officer.

The problem is many ex-offenders lack occupational skills, a work-force

experience and a past work history to reference for possible employers. On top of

these factors is the psychological strangeness of reentering the free society. Ex-

offenders views of the world are frozen when they are incarcerated. In just two or

three years many things can change. People grow up, relocate, and pass away.

Returning to a changed world can make ex-offenders feel discouraged and

isolated.

“When I got home I felt like Stallone in “Demolition Man,” everything was

changed,” said Moretti. “My son was huge and talking, my grandmother had

passed away, and it seemed all my friends had gone their separate ways. The

crazy thing is I was only locked up for a year. I couldn’t imagine five, ten, or 20

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years away.”

“Demolition Man” was a 1993 futuristic flick, based in 2032, where prisoners are

placed in suspended animation and stored in the “CryoPrison.”

“When people get out of prison they experience culture shock, and usually the

longer the stay, the more significant of an impact this has on the person,” said

Linda Smith, a New Hampshire family counselor.

The evidence suggests that this lack of self importance and confidence is caused

by the lack of jobs available for those being released from prison. A job

empowers someone with a sense of being needed. Without this important

empowerment and revenue to live a normal lifestyle, many ex-offenders are often

forced against their means to part-take in deviant behavior, often times simply for

economical factors.

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The Evolution of Crime

Eugene Moore once said, “People don't change. Only their costumes do.”

In the case of crime this is true. Individuals who commit crimes seem to evolve

with the times, possibly to avoid detection, or even to pursue more lucrative,

impersonal crimes.

Bank robberies have dropped 20 percent in 2009 hitting a decade low.

Surprisingly, even in places where the recession has hit the hardest, robberies are

down. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) credits this drop mainly to

technological security advances like Global Positioning System tracking, timed

vaults, and high resolution cameras and video equipment strategically placed on

roadways and in banks.

It seems crooks with the know-how may be turning to digital crime. Websites like

Craigslist and EBay have become notorious breeding grounds for scams. Even

your personal e-mail account is no longer safe from internet bandits.

Forget about your e-mail being hacked, in 2003, even after multiple security

increases, over 22,000 attempts of unauthorized hacking were reported in the

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United States Pentagon’s computer systems. If hackers can hack into the

computer system of the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense, then

your home computer is something like a sitting duck to experienced hackers.

Ronald L. Dick, Director of the FBI’s National Infrastructure Protection Center,

said this regarding the hacking, “Such a situation could destabilize the economy

of the whole country.”

Some of the most common internet scams are fake checks, free internet

merchandise, prize/sweepstakes winnings, phishing/spoofing, Nigerian money

offers and foreign lottery winnings.

“Most of the scams on the internet require people to interact with the scammer for

their scam to work,” said Connecticut web designer Paul Legan. “Giving out

personal information, wiring money, or opening a suspicious e-mail; many times

these problems can be avoided simply by being cautious on the internet.”

National Security aside some scammers are even brazen enough to use the

telephone to swindle money out of the innocent. Seniors often become the targets

of these scams.

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Maria Callahan, 89, of New Milford, Conn.’s Chestnut Grove Retirement

Community was one of these targets.

It was an ordinary January morning for Callahan in her single bedroom apartment.

She made tea and then sat in her chaise lounge to knit. The phone rang- an

ordinary event for a woman with 12 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren.

Someone always called to check in.

“Grandma”, said the caller.

“Even though I have so many grandchildren, only one of them calls me grandma:

my grandson Edward.” said Callahan.

Thinking it was her grandson Edward, she began to talk him asking him about the

kids and work. He explained they were well but he had been in a bad accident

while on a business trip in Canada. He had some drinks and totaled the rental car.

The car had no rental insurance, and, to top things off, he had been arrested. He

said he would need about $3,200 to cover everything and gave her the address to

send the money in Montreal.

The caller asked Callahan not to tell anyone in the family about the incident

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because he was embarrassed. He told her she was the only one he could ask this

kind of favor.

“Of course I was willing to help my grandson, any grandmother would. I told him

I would get the money to him,” Callahan.

After ending the call with her so called “grandson” Callahan phoned one of the

Chestnut Grove’s aides. She explained she needed a ride to the Western Union

located in the Big Y. The aide asked why and Callahan explained, so the aide

agreed to help.

Callahan first stopped at bank and withdrew $4,000. She figured she would send a

little extra incase her grandson needed the money. Then to the Western Union; the

transaction was quick and easy. Callahan headed back to Chestnut Grove feeling

relieved that her grandson would be ok now.

Right before dinner time the phone rang again. This time, it was Western Union.

The representative explained that the transaction could not be completed because

it was believed to be a scam. Callahan was infuriated, but the representative

insisted that the transaction was denied and that she could pick up her money at

the Big Y location.

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Callahan then called her daughter Patricia who lived down the street and

explained the situation. Patricia rushed over to Callahan’s apartment and suddenly

the phone rang again. “Grandma?” said the caller.

Patricia snatched the phone from her mother and said, “Eddie what are you doing

in Canada? I thought your anniversary was this week, what was the date again?”

The phone went silent and the caller hung up. It wasn’t Callahan’s grandson

Eddie. It had been a scammer who had spent some time to learn who Eddie was

and where he traveled for business. A lot of Edward Callahan’s information was

widely available through the social networking web site Facebook.

His Facebook profile openly disclosed information like his home address,

employer, date of birth, wife’s name, and the number of children he had. Even

more information was disclosed on his wall post through friends. One even

stated, “Enjoy that cold weather in Canada on your business trip Eddie!”

This type of scam is commonly referred to as the “emergency scam”. This is

when scammers pretend to be someone they are not and contact relatives and

friends saying they are in need of money because of some emergency.

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Police advise families to gather annually and have a family meeting to inform

elderly family members of this scam along with some of the others that are

circulating today.

If someone is asking for money in an emergency situation they need to be asked a

lot of specific personal questions, ones only that person and immediate family

members would know. What was your first pet’s name? What grade school did

you go to? What’s your mother’s maiden name?

Another safeguard is to institute a family code that would be used in emergency

situations only. If the person calling claims to have forgotten the family code have

them call another relative or try conference calling another relative while staying

on the phone, but never send money unless you are absolutely sure you know who

you are speaking with.

Luckily the nation’s best known money wiring services, Western Union, has

stepped up its patrol for scams. On their web page, www.westernunion.com, the

company goes into specific detail about common scams and how to avoid them.

Besides informing customers Western Union, keeps a watchful eye on suspicious

transactions and halts ones they deem unfit, as in Mrs. Callahan’s case.

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”Many times we stop transactions we deem suspicious,” said Anna White a public

relations representative in Western Union’s corporate office, in a phone interview.

“There are members of Western Union that constantly watch transactions and are

many technological internal safeguards as well. However, I can’t disclose

anything about them because these scammers are constantly evolving and getting

smarter to avoid detection.”

The elderly community is not the only victims.

Maria Capello, 40, almost fell victim to a similar scam. The difference was this

scam was administered through an e-mail.

It was 10:00 am on a Friday and Capello logged into her Hotmail account to

check her mail. The inbox was full of the same junk mail it usually was. There

were a few work related e-mails, and then she spotted an e-mail that stood out. It

was titled HELP! The message was from her good friend Rebecca Heath’s

Hotmail account so she opened it immediately.

It went on to explain that Heath was in London and had been robbed. She lost

everything including her passport and plane tickets home. She explained she went

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to the United States Embassy, but all they could do was restore her passport. She

was asking anyone for help.

Immediately Capello phoned Heath’s cell phone, nothing it went straight to her

voicemail.

“My friend Rebecca isn’t the type to ask for money, so I figured she really needed

it,” said Capello. “I knew I had to act fast considering London in four hours

ahead of us and the banks would be closing,”

Capello gathered her things and rushed to the bank. She tried her friend’s cell

phone again on the way, but no answer. Only a moment later Capello received

another e-mail on her Blackberry. It was from her friend’s e-mail again. It said

that she would need about $1,200 to cover the airfare and something to eat while

traveling.

“When I got to the bank I had a funny feeling, something in my gut told me to call

her house. I did and she answered. She thought the whole thing was a joke,” said

Capello.

This was no joke, Heath’s Hotmail account had been hacked and the e-mail was

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sent to everyone in Rebecca’s contacts, some 200 individuals. Fortunately

Rebecca was able to send out anther e-mail warning all of her contacts about the

scam only after Hotmail re-secured her account.

Capello contacted her cousin, who happens to be a United States Marshall, and he

helped track the internet protocol address to Paris, France.

“Most of the money gets transferred to overseas accounts where we have no

jurisdiction. No one is safe from these scams, people need to keep a vigilant eye

and ear for suspicious activity especially on their computers,” said Brookfield,

Conn. police officer Jared Turner.

The internet is a dangerous place that offers criminals an anonymous and

impersonal hunting ground. With the heightened security in banks and in law

enforcement it is no wonder why crime is shifting into the realm of technology.

When you go on the internet you should be wary, just as if you were walking in a

bad neighborhood.

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Prohibition & Crime: The

Twenties to Today

It may be cliché to say history repeats itself, but in the case of 21st century

marijuana prohibition it seems there are many historical similarities between

marijuana laws today and the prohibition of alcohol during the 20’s and early

30’s.

For marijuana and alcohol illegality has not diminished their wide-spread use.

In fact novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald said this about the prohibition years. "The

parties were bigger…the pace was faster…and the morals were looser."

In our popular culture marijuana has gained even more popularity in movies like

“Cheech and Chong”. Marijuana has also become intertwined with the music

industry, many artist are known for singing about smoking marijuana, from Tom

Petty to Bob Marley. Despite it still being considered taboo the number of

smokers continues to rise. More than one in ten Americans is a regular marijuana

smoker, according to the American Council for Drug Education.

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It is so intertwined in our culture that it has even become a topic pressed on many

politicians running for office. And who could forget the infamous responses to

the age old political question, “Have you ever smoked marijuana?”

Bill Clinton said, “I didn’t inhale.”

Mayor Bloomberg said, “You bet I did. And I liked it.”

And President Obama said,” When I was a kid I inhaled frequently. That was the

point.”

Even though it is illegal, nearly 42 percent of America’s 309 million people admit

to trying it at least once, according to a survey published in PLoS Medicine, in

July of 2008.

The recreational use of marijuana has burdened law enforcement with black

markets, ambiguous laws for enforcement, and corruption from within just as

alcohol did.

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Marijuana also has the possibility to generate tremendous revenue through its

regulation, just the way liquor was when the 21st amendment was fully ratified on

December 5, 1933.

A future with legal marijuana may not be so far fetched, the nation may only have

to look in its past. Just as alcohol was once brewed in basements and bootleg

distilleries, now it’s marketed, taxed and regulated by Uncle Sam.

Marijuana dispensaries are already popping up in some states, for medicinal

purposes. California is the most notable with over 1,000 medical marijuana

dispensaries now distributing the drug, according to a December 2009 article in

"Pasadena Weekly”.

In California anyone over the age of 18 can easily obtain a prescription to

purchase marijuana for various aliments from headaches to cancer. The

dispensaries package up pot in nifty jars and make Tetrahydrocannabinol, or

better know as THC, induced baked goods almost making it seem like a reality to

see pot brownies next to Budweiser in your local grocer. THC is the main

psychoactive substance found in marijuana that offers its calming and pain

alleviating properties.

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“In California it is so easy to get a marijuana prescription. I got one for back pain

and now I can chose from a variety of high grade marijuana to buy in baked

goods, serums or just buds,” said Ian Griffin, a San Francisco resident.

Ironically during prohibition you could obtain a similar prescription for alcohol.

If you became ill you could be prescribed medicinal alcohol by a doctor. This

practice was relatively popular; alcohol came in a variety of tonics and elixirs.

Some marijuana dispensaries are doing the same since smoking is considered one

of the only undesirable properties of its use.

This was a legal loop-hole in the Eighteenth Amendment, by only limiting its

prohibition to "beverage purposes" alcohol was considered a legitimate medicine.

This is much like how marijuana is federally illegal, yet some states allow its use

for medicinal purposes.

During prohibition, grain alcohol was also widely available for industrial use.

This alcohol was often stolen redistilled and used for beverage purposes. In 1926,

the government decided it had put up with enough abuse of industrial alcohol.

President Calvin Coolidge and his government implemented the idea of poisoning

the liquor as a form of deterrence and enforcement; the result, an estimated

10,000 deaths.

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During Richard Nixon’s term in office the U.S. government repeated history yet

again by spraying Paraquat, a toxic herbicide, on Mexican marijuana fields.

Before the plants were killed they were harvested and sent to the U.S., ready to be

smoked by millions of Americans. While the herbicide were meant kill the plants

before they could reach the U.S., the government took a similar stance to that of

the poisoning program during the prohibition years. The effects of this action are

unknown to this day, but may result in some forms of cancer for the smokers of

this marijuana later in life.

Besides risking public health, alcohol prohibition cost the government an

estimated $500 million per year in lost taxes from 1919 to 1933. Today this

would be almost 5.4 billion annually or a total of 75.6 billion over the 14 years of

alcohol prohibition according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics’s inflation

calculator.

A figure for lost taxes could never be accurately depicted because its sale has

been unregulated and illegal since the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937. This act made

the substance federally illegal to possess, sell or use without a tax stamp.

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However, a recent study headed by Nobel Prize winning economist Milton

Friedman estimated that the legalization of marijuana would generate over 6.2

billion in revenue per year, even with the economy in shambles.

Besides the additional tax revenue legalization would also save more on

enforcement. In 2008 the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report indicated that 44 percent

of its funding for the war on drugs was spent to prosecute mere possession of

marijuana and 6 percent for cultivation, that’s 50 percent of almost $14 billion

budget.

Other than the money the government was missing out on, one of the most

important effects of the prohibition of alcohol was the creation of crime. The

same holds true for marijuana. Marijuana’s wide spread use and profitable

underground industry may explain why marijuana may be America’s top cash

crop, topping both corn and wheat combined, with a conservative annual value of

$35.8 billion.

It is clear that there is a high demand for marijuana in America, just as there was a

high demand for alcohol during prohibition. And where there is a demand, there

is money to be made thus there is a supply.

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The majority of that supply comes from Mexico’s notoriously violent drug cartels

who murdered 6,300 people in 2008, one a pregnant U.S. official. Marijuana

makes up 60 percent the cartels’ profits even with the increased boarder security

since 9/11, according to a DEA official on MSNBC’s recent special titled

“Marijuana Inc.

Smugglers cross the Mexican border in many ways including the use of elaborate

underground tunnels. Over 16 tunnels have been uncovered after 9/11 but more

and more seem to pop up once others are detected. One in particular was found

this past June in Nogales, Az. The tunnel stretched 83 feet and was ventilated and

lit.

While Mexico and Canada provided some alcohol to bordering states during

prohibition most of the black market hooch was homemade and smuggled only

state to state. Moonshiners would run their booze in the dead of night using

souped up Fords to out drive federal tax agents. Few were caught, and in essence

the only thing the tax agents accomplished was planting the seed for one of

America’s favorite motorsports, The National Association for Stock Car Auto

Racing, or NASCAR.

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Today Mexican cartels feed off America’s refer habit and continue to smuggle as

much pot into the United States as possible. However there is still being pot

grown within the country. That pot, like most other things we pride as American

made, is claimed to be some of the best marijuana known to man. After cross-

breeding strains of pot for generations of plants, growers have created flawless

marijuana that has the highest levels of THC ever, of so says the growers of

Mendocino County in MSNBC’s “Marijuana Inc. Special.

“This ain’t your grandfather’s or your father’s marijuana. This will hurt you. This

will addict you. This will kill you,” said Mark R. Trouville, DEA Miami, to the

Associated Press (June 22, 2007)

More potent then grandpa’s bud, sure. The question now is will it you become an

addict the way drugs like crack cocaine and methamphetamine do? And can this

new aged pot really kill you?

Every year products that we buy in our grocery stores, drugs stores, and gas

stations kill yet they remain on the shelves. According to The National Institute

on Drug Abuse tobacco is public enemy number one killing about 400,000 per

year, but alcohol isn’t that far behind with 100,000 alcohol related deaths. Even

caffeine and aspirin kill more people than pot, caffeine killing 2,000 and aspirin

killing 500. The National Justice Department and NIDA both concur that

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marijuana kills zero people annually; as a matter of fact no one in recorded history

has died from consuming marijuana. If you were to ask an archaeologist that

dates all the way back to the Scythians in 5th

century BC. Not to say marijuana

doesn’t impair one’s judgement. It may be possible that some deaths or injuries

are a result of impairment induced by marijuana, but chemically it will not kill

you, even WebMD agrees to that.

Another stigma marijuana faces is the association of its smoke and cancer.

According to an analysis published by Scientific American in 2006 marijuana

smoke has four times more tar than tobacco smoke yet scientist found no link

between marijuana and lung cancer.

"We expected that we would find that a history of heavy marijuana use, more than

500 to 1,000 uses, would increase the risk of cancer from several years to decades

after exposure to marijuana," said physician Donald Tashkin of the University of

California, Los Angeles and lead researcher on the project.

“But looking at residents of Los Angeles County, the scientists found that even

those who smoked more than 20,000 joints in their life did not have an increased

risk of lung cancer.”

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Back to growing pot, the people who want to grow pot for a living have flocked to

California’s Emerald Triangle that includes Mendocino, Humboldt and Trinity

counties. The pot growing industry here has become a normal sense of life for the

people in this region and Mendocino County alone generates an estimated $1

billion per year just by growing marijuana, according to a Mendocino County

Commission study.

Mendocino pot grower Ukiah Morrison said, “This is as natural as growing corn

to me. This is the lifeblood of the county, and it has been for more than 30

years.”

Recently MSNBC did an investigative report on Mendocino County’s thriving

economy that is 66 percent dependent on marijuana, according to a MCC study.

In the MSNBC special Drug Enforcement Administration agent Dan Offield said,

“This is ground zero for marijuana. Nobody produces any better marijuana than

we do right here.”

There also seems to be the homegrown phenomenon that is quietly operating in

every town near you, in a local attic or basement. And these home growers aren’t

who you would think they should be. You would probably think a male, mid

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twenties, not well kept. They are regular law abiding citizens looking for some

supplemental income.

A mid-forties family man who also happens to be a Conn. grower said this in an

interview, “I smoked pot when I was a kid but this isn’t about growing it to smoke

it for myself, it’s about paying my mortgage. My paycheck simply wasn’t enough

when my wife got laid off, so I started this growing operation just to stay afloat.”

This grower, who preferred to remain anonymous for obvious legal repercussions,

explained that it costs him very little to grow a pound of premium sensimilla,

which in Spanish means without seeds. The only expenses he has had are the

plant lights, the electricity, fertilizers, and of course the seeds.

Seeds can be obtained from marijuana that is not sensimilla, but can also be

ordered relatively easily and discretely on the internet. Here potential growers

can choose seeds from the best strains of pot and even buy feminized seeds which

guarantee female plants, which is ideal because male plants harbor little to no

THC. While this isn’t legal seed banks are willing to send the goods as long as

they receive cash, and the probability of the post office stopping a paper thin

envelope is slim.

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The street value for a pound of this pot ranges from $2,500 to $6,000. Depending

on factors like the number of plants, strain of marijuana and how healthy the

plants are there is potential for an enormous profit, obviously tax free in this case,

but if regulated Conn. could take in $150 to $360 in tax revenue per pound.

There would be more revenue from taxation and less money spent on

enforcement, prosecution, and incarceration if marijuana was like any other

commodity like coffee or tobacco.

Prosecution for marijuana crimes, and any other crimes for that matter aren’t

cheap, but incarceration is much more expensive. Over 800,000 people are

arrested for possession of marijuana every year, not all get locked up, most get

first offender programs, or are required to do community service along with a

substance abuse class, but those with a prior record may get locked up.

In Connecticut incarceration cost an annual average of $44,165 per inmate, per

year according to the state of Conn. And this isn’t considering if an inmate has

any health issues.

This isn’t legalization of a controlled substance it is a business proposition. Our

nation could have another $14 to $40 billion dollars in its pocket, but what would

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the real effects be? We can only look to our history books, but time will tell.

Voters in this coming November general election ballot, in California, will

consider becoming the first state to legalize the growing of a small amount of

marijuana for personal use. When alcohol prohibition was eradicated by the 18th

Amendment President Franklin D. Roosevelt said, “What America needs now is a

drink.” Will the years to come echo this quote. In the near future President

Obama may say, “Time to inhale that’s the point.”

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Notes

Article #1: 1. Ex-offender Interview

2. Clear, Todd, and George Cole. American corrections. 6th ed. Canada:

Thomson, 2003. (62-85)(452-472). Print.

3. "Concrete industry news." Concrete Monthly. N.p., 09-08-2009. Web. 03

Apr 2010. <http://www.concretemonthly.com/newsflash/art.php?764>.

4. Riedl , Brian. "White House Report Claims Stimulus Success—Despite

3.5 Million Job Losses." The Heritage Foundation. N.p., 01-14-2010.

Web. 14 Apr 2010.

<http://www.heritage.org/Research/Reports/2010/01/White-House-

Report-Claims-Stimulus-Success-Despite-3-Million-Job-Losses>.

5. Criminal Justice Professor Interview

6. Former Probation Officer Interview

7. "Ex-Offenders Programs." Workforce Alliance. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Apr

2010. <http://www.workforcealliance.biz/ex-offenders/index.html>.

Article#2: 1. LasButlert, Ann. "Despite Recession, Bank Robberies Dropped in 2009."

First Coast News. First Coast News, 01-19-2010. Web. 15 March 2010.

<http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/local/news-

article.aspx?storyid=150950&catid=14>.

2. "Change Quotes and Sayings." Quotes Junction. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Apr

2010. <http://www.quotesjunction.com/change-quotes-and-sayings/>.

3. Sabadash, Viktor. "Victims of cyber crime." Computer Crime Research

Center. Computer Crime Research Center, 17 Apr 2004. Web. 19 Apr

2010. <http://www.crime-research.org/news/17.04.2004/212/>.

4. Conn. Web Designer Interview

5. Christensen, Brett. "Common Internet Scams - An Overview." Hoax-

Slayer. N.p., 2008. Web. 15 March 2010. <http://www.hoax-

slayer.com/common-internet-scams.html>.

6. Chestnut Grove Resident Interview 7. "Protect Yourself from Fraud." Western Union. Western Union Holdings,

Inc, n.d. Web. 19 Apr 2010.

<http://www.westernunion.com/WUCOMWEB/staticMid.do?method=loa

d&pagename=fraudIndex&pid=fraud0709>.

8. Western Union Corporate Interview

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9. E-mail Scam Victim Interview 10. Brookfield Police Officer Interview

Article#3: 1. McGrew, Jane. "History of Alcohol Prohibition." Schaffer Library of Drug

Policy. Web. 03 Apr 2010.

<http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/library/studies/nc/nc2a.htm>.

2. “BASIC FACTS ABOUT DRUGS." American Council for Drug

Education. Phoenix House, 1999. Web. 03 Apr 2010.

<http://www.acde.org/common/Marijana.htm>.

3. "Speakeasies, Flappers & Red Hot Jazz: Music of the Prohibition."

Riverwalk Jazz. PVP Media, n.d. Web. 18 Apr 2010.

<http://www.riverwalkjazz.org/jazznotes/speakeasies/>

4. San Francisco Resident interview

5. Blum, Deborah . "The Chemist's War." Slate. Slate, 19 Feb 2010. Web. 18

Apr 2010. <http://www.slate.com/id/2245188>.

6. “California Medical Marijuana Information." U.S. Drug Enforcement

Administration. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Apr 2010.

<http://www.justice.gov/dea/ongoing/calimarijuana.html

7. "Uniform Crime Reports." Federal Bureau of Investigation. N.p., 1999.

Web. 05 Apr 2010. <http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/ucr.htm>.

8. "Budgetary Implications of Marijuana Prohibition in the United States."

Prohibition Costs. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Apr 2010.

<http://www.prohibitioncosts.org/>.

9. "Inflation Calculator." US Bureau of Labor Statistics’s. US Bureau of

Labor Statistics, n.d. Web. 19 Apr 2010. <http://data.bls.gov/cgi-

bin/cpicalc.pl>.

10. VENKATARAMAN, NITYA. "Marijuana Called Top U.S. Cash Crop."

ABC News. ABC, Dec. 18, 2006 . Web. 14 Apr 2010.

<http://abcnews.go.com/Business/comments?type=story&id=2735017>.

11. DeNoon, Daniel. "WebMD." Marijuana Smoking Doesn't Kill. WebMD,

18 Sep 2003. Web. 11 May 2010. <www.webmd.com>.

12. Castillo , Jackie . "'Elaborate' drug tunnel found along Mexico border."

CNN. CNN, 06-11-2009. Web. 05 Apr 2010.

<http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/06/11/mexico.drug

.tunnel/index.html

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13. SALTONSTALL , DAVID. "A Potshot at Mayor Mike's star ." Cannabis

dot net. Daily News, 04-09-2002. Web. 14 Apr 2010.

<http://cannabis.net/politics/index.html>.

14. "Marijuana Quotes - Famous People." Eazysmoke. N.p., 2008. Web. 14

Apr 2010. <http://eazysmoke.com/marijuana-quotes.htm>.

15. Lynch, Sarah. "An American Pastime: Smoking Pot." TIME. TIME/CNN,

11 Jul 2008 . Web. 18 Apr 2010.

<http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1821697,00.html>.

16. Biello, David. "Large Study Finds No Link between Marijuana and Lung

Cancer." Scientific American. Scientific American, 24 May 2006. Web. 18

Apr 2010. <http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=large-

study-finds-no-link>.

17. "Population Clocks." United States Census Bureau. N.p., n.d. Web. 18

Apr 2010. <http://www.census.gov/>.

18. LaReinhartst, Christopher. "COST OF INCARCERATION." Conn.

Government Homepage. N.p., 02-13-2008. Web. 07 Apr 2010.

<http://www.cga.ct.gov/2008/rpt/2008-R-0099.htm>.

19. "Marijuana Inc." MSNBC. Web. 16 Apr 2010.

<http://www.msnbc.msn.com>.

20. Anonymous grower interview

21. Armentano, Paul. "Don’t Believe The Hype! Potent Pot, So What?" The

National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. NORML, 14

May 2009. Web. 18 Apr 2010. <http://blog.norml.org/2009/05/14/dont-

believe-the-hype-potent-pot-so-what/>.