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Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Cannabis by the numbers

Tell me one more time why USA law enforcement arrests a person every 40 seconds for a marijuana offense, 88% of the time for simple possession of a small amount. The only harm I see being done associated with cannabis is contained entirely in the preceding sentence.

From the East Bay Express...

$302.81: The average price of an ounce of high-quality weed in California
(PriceofWeed.com, Dec. 21).

$412.15: The average price of an ounce of high-quality weed in New York
(PriceofWeed.com, Dec. 21).

71.5: Percentage of US teens who say cannabis is "fairly/very easy to
obtain" (National Institutes of Health).

67: Percentage of Americans who think the "War on Drugs" has been a failure
(Angus Reid Public Opinion Poll, August).

50: Percentage of Americans supporting marijuana legalization (Gallup).

1,200: Number of local chapters of the NAACP now working to end the Drug
War after the group voted in October to call for the war's end (NAACP).

97: Age of Doritos creator Arch West, who passed away in September.

14.3 percent: Likelihood that a weekly cannabis smoker in the US is obese
(American Journal of Epidemiology, March).

22 percent: Likelihood that a cannabis abstainer in the US is obese
(American Journal of Epidemiology, March).

35,000: Number of doctors represented by the California Medical Association
who, in October, called for legalization of marijuana to increase research
and reduce public harm (CMA).

50-plus: Percentage of patients in a MediCann survey reported they had used
or were using marijuana as a substitute for prescription drugs (RAND).

$3.1 million: Six-month overseas sales of Sativex รข€” a marijuana throat
spray in stage-three clinical trials in the US (GW Pharmaceuticals).

131 billion: Base pairs of the cannabis sativa genome sequenced and
published for the first time (Medicinal Genomics).

19: Percentage decrease in the traffic accident fatality rate for 20-29
year-olds associated with medical marijuana legalization (Daniel Rees,
University of Colorado, 2011).

$100: Fine for possession of less than an ounce of marijuana in California,
starting January 1, 2011 (State of California).

35: Number of years it took to get possession downgraded from a misdemeanor
to an infraction in California.

$250: Room-cleaning fee for smoking pot in a San Francisco hotel (field
reports).

6: Number of California city or county voter referendums or initiatives to
regulate dispensaries in 2011 and 2012.

5: Marijuana-related California initiatives seeking a spot on the November
12 statewide ballot.

3: Number of pounds allowable for personal use under the "Repeal Cannabis
Prohibition Act of 2012" currently gathering signatures in California.

504,760: Validated signatures needed to qualify an initiative for
California ballot in November 2012 (Bill Zimmerman).

$1.5 million: Estimated cost to gather required amount of valid signatures
to get on the California ballot (Zimmerman).

$34.4 million: Box office receipts for A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas
(RottenTomatoes.com).

3.3 million: Number of viewers that tuned in to Episode Two of FX's
Wilfred, starring Elijah Wood and a pot-smoking talking dog. Wilfred has
been picked up for a second season.

2: Billboard chart rank for debut of Wiz Khalifa's April release "Rolling
Papers," which went gold. The single "Roll Up" went platinum (Billboard,
RIAA)

4: Number of persons approved by the federal government to use medical
marijuana (US Drug Enforcement Administration).

16: Medical marijuana states (Americans for Safe Access).

750,000: Estimated number of qualified patients in California (NORML, June).

24.8 million: Estimated number of eligible patients under current state
laws (See Change Strategy, March 2011).

$1.7 billion: Estimated size of the annual medical marijuana market in the
United States (See Change Strategy).

$8.9 billion: Forecasted size of the annual US medical marijuana market in
2016 (See Change Strategy). Read more after the jump.

92: Percentage of the national medical cannabis market located in
California and Colorado (See Change Strategy).

$1.3 billion: Size of California medical cannabis market (See Change
Strategy).

$100 million: Amount the California Board of Equalization estimates it
collects annually from the 8.75 percent sales tax levied on medical
marijuana dispensaries (BOE).

$740,000: 2010 Oakland tax revenue from dispensary permits and sales (City
of Oakland).

30,000: Estimated number of attendees at the International Cannabis and
Hemp Expo held for the first time in front of Oakland City Hall.

$2.5 million: Amount Harborside Health Center owes the IRS, because the IRS
says medical cannabis dispensaries can't deduct business expenses
(Harborside).

5,300: Pounds of food Harborside Health Center donated to the Alameda
County Food Bank, earning it the Red Plate Award in May (Harborside).

$18 billion: Estimated size of the annual US marijuana black market (See
Change Strategies).

28 million: Estimated number of consumers of marijuana in the last year (US
Department of Justice).

9,000: Estimated number of full-time equivalent DEA agent positions
budgeted for 2011-12 (White House).

17,000 metric tons : Estimated annual marijuana production in the US
according to the US DOJ.

5,000 metric tons: Estimated annual marijuana production in the US
according to RAND.

1: Percentage of total US electricity generation estimated used by indoor
pot cultivation (Evan Mills, member, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change).

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