EagleScorpion

Incarceration
The precise number of marijuana offenders incarcerated in federal and state prisons and local jails in the United States is not available. Government sources simply do not compile this data.

No federal agency could provide a definitive number of marijuana offenders in prison or jail on any level. Agencies contacted include the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the Bureau of Prisons, and the U.S. Sentencing Commission. However, in some cases the data provided were useful for making reasonable estimates.

Phone calls and faxes to a sampling of states' statistical analysis centers and departments of corrections were not much more helpful. Few states were able to provide the number of state marijuana prisoners; almost none were able to provide the number of marijuana offenders in local jails. Meaningful extrapolations would be impossible based on the data available from the state statistical agencies. Therefore, all information in this report was derived from data provided by federal agencies.

Based on the sparse information available, state prison totals in this report are gross estimates and local jail totals are merely educated guesses.



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Federal prisons. The U.S. Sentencing Commission (USSC) reports that there were 4,610 marijuana offenders sentenced to serve time in federal prison in FY 1997, with an average sentence of 3.25 years.[4]

Multiplying these two numbers together provides an estimate of the number presently in federal prison, accounting for those sentenced over the past 3.25 years. (This assumes that the number sentenced and the average length of sentence remain constant every year.)

4,610 marijuana offenders x 3.25 years =
14,983 marijuana offenders in federal prison at the end of FY 1997


In actuality, both numbers fluctuate from year to year. The federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) provided MPP with raw data for the years 1961 through 1994. In general, the number of people sentenced to federal prison each year for marijuana offenses has increased steadily from 754 in 1980 to 4,121 in 1994, and the average sentence has fluctuated -- generally averaging between four and five years.[5]

Additionally, the USSC's documentation provides data for 1994 through 1997, which reveal the following:

1994: 4,186 marijuana offenders were sentenced to an average 3.88 years[6]

1995: 3,498 marijuana offenders were sentenced to an average 3.59 years[7]

1996: 3,722 marijuana offenders were sentenced to an average 3.51 years[8]

1997: 4,610 marijuana offenders were sentenced to an average 3.25 years[4]



Another method of calculation incorporates this data. First, the average sentence duration for 1994 through 1997 is calculated:

(3.88 + 3.59 + 3.51 + 3.25) / 4 =
3.56 years


Next, the number of offenders sentenced for the past 3.56 years is calculated, working backward from 1997:

4,610 + 3,722 + 3,498 + (4,186 / 2) =
13,923 presently incarcerated


Thus, it is fairly safe to say that there were between 13,923 and 14,983 marijuana offenders in federal prison at the end of 1997.

The BOP reports that there were 113,718 people incarcerated in the federal prison system in December 1997.[9]

To estimate the percentage of federal prisoners who were incarcerated for marijuana offenses:

(13,923 + 14,983) / 2 = approx. 14,453 marijuana offenders incarcerated;

14,453 marijuana prisoners / 113,718 total prisoners = 12.7%



Thus, it is estimated that marijuana offenders comprised approximately 12.7% of the federal prison population in 1997.

There were 123,368 people incarcerated in the federal prison system in November 1998.[10] Assuming that marijuana offenders still comprise 12.7% of the federal prison population, there are an estimated 15,668 marijuana offenders presently serving time in federal prison.

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mind you.. this is over four years ago... alot has happened since then.. you do the math. remember, these are just rough estimates b/c they refuse to release the ACTUAL information. do i smell a conspiracy?

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Ndakasimba kana makasimbawo