Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug in America
today. The term "marijuana" refers to the leaves and flowering tops of
the cannabis plant. A tobacco like substance produced by drying the leaves
and flowering tops of the cannabis plant, marijuana varies significantly
in its potency, depending on the source and selection of plant materials
used. Sinsemilla, which is derived from the unpollinated female cannabis
plant, and hashish, the resinous material of the cannabis plant, are popular
with users because of their high concentration of THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol).
THC is believed to be the chemical responsible for most of the psychoactive
effects of the plant.
Marijuana is usually smoked in the form of loosely rolled cigarettes
called joints or hollowed-out commercial cigars called blunts. Joints and
blunts may be laced with a number of adulterants including phencyclidine
(PCP), substantially altering the effects and toxicity of these products.
Street names for marijuana include pot, grass, weed, dank, mary jane, Acapulco
gold, and reefer.
Although marijuana grown in the United States was once considered inferior
because of its low concentration of THC, advancements in plant selection
and cultivation have resulted in highly potent domestic marijuana. For
example, the average THC content of U.S. produced sinsemilla has risen
from 3.2 percent in 1977 to 12.8 percent in 1997.
Marijuana contains known toxins and cancer-causing chemicals that are
stored in fat cells of users for up to several months. Marijuana users
experience the same health problems as tobacco smokers, such as bronchitis,
emphysema, and bronchial asthma. Some of the effects of marijuana use also
include increased heart rate, dryness of the mouth, reddening of the eyes,
impaired motor skills and concentration, and frequent hunger. Extended
use increases risk to the lungs and reproductive system, as well as suppression
of the immune system. Occasionally, hallucinations, fantasies, and paranoia
are reported.
Use
Overall usage: The number of marijuana-related emergency room episodes,
which are tracked by the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN), has steadily
increased from 15,706 in 1990, to 87,150 in 1999. Many of these visits
can be attributed to the fact that the potency of marijuana has also increased
during that same time period. The 1999 National Household Survey on Drug
Abuse (NHSDA) estimated that 5.1 percent (11.2 million) of the population
aged twelve and older were monthly marijuana or hashish users, which is
the same rate as in 1991 but considerably lower than the rate of 13.2 percent
in 1979. NHSDA also found that the number of first time marijuana users
in 1998 (2.3 million) increased significantly compared to 1989 (1.4 million).
In addition, according to the Office of National Drug Control Policy's
1998 Drug Control Strategy, marijuana is the most prevalent illegal drug
in the United States; approximately three quarters (77percent) of current
illegal drug users used marijuana or hashish in 1996.
Use among youth: The marijuana problem among youth is particularly acute.
According to a survey conducted by Phoenix House, an organization that
runs drug abuse treatment centers and conducts extensive research, marijuana
was the drug of choice for 87 percent of teens entering treatment programs
in New York during the first quarter of 1999. A 1996 national survey conducted
by Phoenix House revealed that eighty-three percent of adolescents in treatment
perceived, at one time or another, marijuana to be less dangerous than
other illicit drugs, and 60 percent agreed that using marijuana made it
easier for them to consume other drugs, including cocaine, methamphetamine,
and LSD. Similar statistics were found by the 1999 Monitoring the Future
study, which showed that marijuana is the illegal drug most frequently
used by young people. Among high school seniors, 49.7 percent reported
using marijuana at least once in their lives. By comparison, that figure
was 41.7 percent for seniors in 1995 and 32.6 percent in 1992. The 1999
NHSDA found that nearly one in 13 youths aged 12-17 were current users
of marijuana in 1999 and that the prevalence of marijuana use among youth
more than doubled from 1992 to 1999. The 1998 National Center on Addiction
and Substance Abuse study indicates that adolescents are first exposed
and try marijuana at a very young age. According to the study, 50 percent
of 13-year-olds reported that they could find and purchase marijuana, and
49 percent of teens surveyed said that they first tried marijuana at age
13 or younger.
Availability
Availability: Marijuana is readily available throughout all metropolitan,
suburban, and rural areas of the continental United States.
Sources
United States: Domestic cannabis is frequently cultivated in remote
locations and on public land to prevent observation and identification
of owners. To curtail the spread of marijuana cultivation, the DEA initiated
the Domestic Cannabis Eradication and Suppression Program in 1979, which
is the only nationwide program that exclusively addresses marijuana. The
program began operations in Hawaii and California and rapidly expanded
to include all 50 states by 1985. In Hawaii, cannabis eradication efforts
have reduced marijuana availability in the islands and forced traffickers
to smuggle marijuana from the mainland. For additional information about
this program, see the "Marijuana Eradication" section.
A trend
toward indoor marijuana production in the United States is largely due
to successful drug law enforcement efforts to curtail outdoor cultivation.
Moreover, indoor growing provides a controlled environment conducive to
the production of high potency sinsemilla. Indoor cultivation permits
year-round production and can be accomplished in a variety of settings.
Indoor grows range from several plants grown in a closet, to thousands
of plants grown in elaborate, specially constructed greenhouses. Rates
of vegetation, growth, and maturation are enhanced by special fertilizers,
plant hormones, steroids, insecticides, and genetic engineering. In 1998,
the five leading states for indoor growing activity were California, Florida,
Oregon, Alaska, and Kentucky. Indoor growers cultivated 89 plants on average.
Nationwide in the same year, drug law enforcement authorities seized 2,616
indoor grow operations.
Other Countries: Drug trafficking organizations operating from Mexico
are responsible for supplying most of the foreign marijuana available in
the United States. However, traffickers based in countries in the Far East,
such as Cambodia and Thailand, also cultivate and ship marijuana to the
United States. Marijuana from Thailand, which is often referred to as "Thai
sticks," is seized much less frequently than marijuana originating from
Mexico.
Trafficking
Virtually all marijuana is smuggled into the United States concealed
in false compartments, fuel tanks, seats, and tires of private and commercial
vehicles, pickup trucks, vans, mobile homes, and horse trailers. Larger
shipments, up to multi-thousand kilogram amounts, usually are smuggled
in tractor-trailer trucks in false compartments and among legitimate bulk
shipments, such as agricultural products. U.S. authorities seized a record
593 metric tons of marijuana along the Southwest Border in 1997 - approximately
25 percent more than that seized in 1996 and nearly double that seized
in 1995. With increased law enforcement pressure along the Southwest Border
of the United States, marijuana smugglers are shifting to traditional routes
in the Gulf of Mexico and the Bahamas. They use cargo vessels, pleasure
boats, and fishing boats to sail up the coast of Mexico, either to U.S.
ports or drop-off sites along the U.S. coast and the Bahamas.
Marijuana Eradication
Marijuana is
the most widely used and readily available drug in the United States, and
it is the only major drug of abuse grown within our borders. The DEA is
aggressively striving to halt the spread of marijuana cultivation in the
United States. To accomplish this, the DEA initiated the Domestic Cannabis
Eradication and Suppression Program (DCE/SP), which is the only nationwide
program that exclusively targets marijuana.
The DCE/SP began funding eradication programs in Hawaii and
California in 1979, and rapidly expanded to include programs in 25
states by 1982, and in all 50 states by 1985. In 2000, DEA continues to
improve the effectiveness of its marijuana eradication efforts, spending
$13 million to support the 96 state and local agencies that are now active
DCE/SP participants. This funding allows the enhancement of already aggressive
eradication enforcement activities. In 1999, the DCE/SP was responsible
for the eradication of 3,413,083 cultivated outdoor plants, and 208,027
indoor plants. In addition, the DEA secured 11,922 arrests and seized 3,707
weapons and $26,911,262 in assets.
These DCE/SP successes can be directly attributed to the decision by
participating agencies to share intelligence, technology, and manpower.
These cooperative efforts have curbed the availability of domestically
grown marijuana and have caused the outdoor cultivators to abandon larger
outdoor plots for the safety and concealment of smaller, indoor cultivating
areas. In addition, marijuana growers are now using sophisticated indoor
growing techniques, such as computerized irrigation. Another technologically
advanced technique employed by marijuana growers is hydroponic cultivation,
which is the cultivation of plants in nutrient solution rather than soil.
Hydroponic cultivation not only makes it easier for growers to clandestinely
cultivate marijuana indoors, it also enables them to produce extremely
potent marijuana.
Even though indoor cultivation is more difficult to detect, the DEA
and cooperating agencies are adapting to this new challenge by employing
equally advanced technologies to build effective cases against indoor violators.
One such technique is thermal imaging, a process that identifies indoor
marijuana grows by detecting the signature heat from lighting used to grow
the plant.
