A D V O C A T E S F R E E D O M B L O G
PART 2 OF 2
For Midwest USA Medico-Legal Referrals, visit Contacts page.
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Prepared By: Jeffrey G. Nutt, JD, who served countless needy people before being honored as 1 of 4 annual practicing lawyers and judges awarded State Bar Champion of Justice Awards; judicial experience under US Supreme Court Justice Warren Burger; American University Washington College of Law J.D., Oxford University Fulbright Scholarship to Study Law; Oral Roberts University B.A.; served individual, education, and IT clientele in 30 nations.
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In the spirit of Kingian principles of non-violent social change pioneered by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., this webpage presents a legally-defensible case to abolish an altered state of slavery by addiction and incarceration of persons using marijuana while offending - not less than 14% nationally of those under the control of the criminal justice system according to the latest Bureau of Justice Statistics reported below. Legalization of marijuana merely helps pot businesses while contributing to the costly cycle of violence, marijuana mental illness in which any use is defined by Social Security SSI-precluding use of any non-FDA marijuana as "cannabis abuse", crime, and exploitation. Unconstitutional anti-controlled substance marijuana laws and ballot measures are too costly despite non-FDA marijuana seller assertions to the contrary. Too costly for citizens, FDA-law abiding businesses, and even marijuana dealers who are personally liable to citizen victims and institutions irreparably harmed by the dealer sales under the appearance of lawfulness. The sellers nonetheless systematically ignore the federal Food and Drug Administration approved cannabis pill procedure. The FDA protects citizens from hundreds of harmful interactions marijuana has with other drugs and not less than 20 dangerous interactions ignored by non-FDA medicalization and legalization of marijuana promoted by non-FDA marijuana business ordinances, a rights and economic disaster for the tens of thousands in major jurisdictions, in custody and not in custody, suffering unspeakable pain and personal tragedy.
The estate of Felicia Brown, a late Michigan drug baby and her Sheriff recovered a $7 Million+ Michigan State Drug Dealer Liability Act (DDLA) judgment. Similar laws were passed after the case in 11 other states. DDLA plaintiffs not currently using marijuana, including those in custody who used while offending despite state non-FDA marijuana legalization, may also sue any non-FDA compliant marijuana business in the market. Tobacco-like settlements and bad drug suits and suits by crime victims and those in custody are inevitable.
Per BJS, 14% of those convicted in jail reported using while offending. Their plight, persisting at not less than 11.1% post legalization in Michigan, has been coined here as "Reactive Marijuana Slavery," (RMS), the boomerang effect that is from the non-FDA marijuana legalization resulting in more overall incarcerations of the "duly convicted" causing the 13th Amendment anti-slavery rule to be consumed by its exception in the actual text resulting in a disproportionate impact on severely distressed communities battling what is regarded as jail, prison, or probation slavery stigma ravaging rights and local economies at a cost far in excess of marijuana sales revenues that are neverthess a fraction of the distressed economy. The case to eliminate or prohibit marijuana ordinances is clear cut as well.
State anti-FDA-compliance legalization laws clearly violate federal criminal law, health law, and constitutional Equal Protection, Due Process, and Supremacy Clause law - as well as federal racketeering laws, banking laws, and state drug dealer liability act (DDLA) laws. Just as the Supreme Court found racially segregated "separate but equal" education perpetrated by the Topeka Board of Education was "inherently unequal" state non-FDA-compliant marijuana laws rip right through equal protection of the FDA laws. The state action under color of law must be challenged, like Brown, as a civil rights violation for a failure to protect public health and safety and constitutional rights equally across state or municipal lines in the same way that the Plaintiff in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka won at the U.S. Supreme Court.
End marijuana promotion in the spirit of Brown v. Board of Education, a unanimous reversal of an earlier SCOTUS case, Plessy v. Ferguson originally decided 7-1 by the Justices. After their self-described Lost Century with Opium Wars and legal marijuana, in 1984 China reversed and outlawed marijuana in 1984 before its economy skyrocketed. As the NYT article below shows, the only ones benefitting from the non-FDA-compliant legalization are the marijuana businesses with a product known to ruin countless lives. 10% of all youth use marijuana per the 30 BJS facts listed below.
As citizens harmed by marijuana understand and protect their legal rights, the outcome of this battle against non-FDA-compliant marijuana sellers and local law will have a decisive impact on education, respect for the law, health, welfare, safety, and freedom for the youth and families of the Americas. Today's patchwork of law is inherently unequal.
Advocates Legal Services envisions the end of "legalized" non-FDA-compliant marijuana V.I.C.E. -- Violence, Illness (mental and lung as with tobacco), Crime, and Exploitation (economic fraud, sexual assault, elder and child abuse and neglect by offenders using marijuana while offending). Stand together in non-violent social change, to save lives where there are dangerous drug interactions with marijuana ignored by non-FDA-approved state laws and where marijuana promotes the cycle of domestic violence marijuana / drug lethality factor in domestic violence cases, and Abolish Reactive Marijuana-Related Slavery (A.R.M.S.) today. The 13th Amendment rule against slavery - having a little known exception for the "duly convicted" - will be consumed by the exception more and more in many of America's most distressed communities if the state marijuana legalization laws are not found unconstitutional. The state marijuana legalization laws of the modern era rip right through FDA rules, racketeering and drug dealer liability act laws, as well as the U.S. Constitution's Due Process / Equal Protection / Federal Supremacy clauses.
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"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." - Declaration of Independence
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Through educating youthful citizens and residents of all ages about their rights and responsibilities, each responsible adult can teach youth and their families about the critical need to avoid getting in trouble with the law, to think differently, to avoid bad influences from friend or foe, and to act with civility and respect for the law. When you change your mind, you can change your world and realize your dreams.
The debate about constitutional "slavery" for the "duly convicted" that is a stigma that is almost never discussed is worth having if it creates more knowledge of the constitution, less chronic disproportionate minority representation in the criminal justice system, more freedom and liberty for all.
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Marijuana Facts: Points to Remember from NIH
- Marijuana refers to the dried leaves, flowers, stems, and seeds from the Cannabis sativa or Cannabis indica plant.
- The plant contains the mind-altering chemical THC and other related compounds.
- People use marijuana by smoking, eating, drinking, or inhaling it.
- Smoking and vaping THC-rich extracts from the marijuana plant (a practice called dabbing) is on the rise.
- THC overactivates certain brain cell receptors, resulting in effects such as:
- altered senses
- changes in mood
- impaired body movement
- difficulty with thinking and problem-solving
- impaired memory and learning
- Marijuana use can have a wide range of health effects, including:
- hallucinations and paranoia
- breathing problems
- possible harm to a fetus's brain in pregnant women
- The amount of THC in marijuana has been increasing steadily in recent decades, creating more harmful effects in some people.
- Marijuana use can cause some very uncomfortable side effects, such as anxiety and paranoia and, in rare cases, extreme psychotic reactions.
- Marijuana use can lead to a substance use disorder, which can develop into an addiction in severe cases.
- No medications are currently available to treat marijuana use disorder, but behavioral support can be effective.
NIH: How Does Marijuana Affect a Person's Life?
NIH reports that compared to those who don't use marijuana, those who frequently use large amounts report the following: lower life satisfaction; poorer mental health; poorer physical health; and more relationship problems. People also report less academic and career success. For example, marijuana use is linked to a higher likelihood of dropping out of school.18 It's also linked to more job absences, accidents, and injuries.
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ARMS welcomes the marijuana law debate to reduce pot-related damage to society. This debate will continue after the next ballot measure. Vast marijuana harms include increased risk of health hazards and early entry into the altered state of slavery in prisons under the "duly convicted" clause of the anti-slavery amendment exception in the Constitution. The historic incarceration rates are affected by constantly growing numbers of people damaged by reported marijuana use causing untold social and public health instability. The only economic gainers of legal pot are those in the marijuana business. Marijuana is a money pit for the rest of society. To fight for freedom we need to be vigilant, ever cognizant of the societal devastations marijuana presents.
To protect health, safety and reduce marijuana drug user spin-off crime and mass incarcerations, laws must prohibit marijuana acording to federal law. The spread of marijuana plantations is a catastrophe. The USA's major economic rival and the principal repository of thousands of former Midwest manufacturing jobs exported abroad, China, smartly outlawed marijuana decades ago. Since doing so, they became the world's second greatest economic power and, according to one measure in mid-2016 were temporarily ranked the world's largest economy.Due to the drug crisis in the USA, the lives of Americans and their sacred fortunes are in a perilous place. Legalizing marijuana endangers quality of life. The foul odor and hazards of marijuana smoke alone are as bad or worse than tobacco; the altered mental state pot use causes undermines personal security, civic freedom, shared stable economic opportunity, and family stability. Protect those at risk, including vulnerable crime victims, children and youth, from new predatory pot plantations. Marijuana use is a lethality factor in domestic violence cases and prison slavery facilities where deaths occur too often. Marijuana legalization shreds the fabric of the American ideals of peace, tranquility and happiness.NEW YORK TIMES STORY:After 5 Months of Sales, Colorado Sees the Downside of a Legal High
Edible marijuana products in Denver. Some worry that recreational goods, sometimes brightly packaged, are finding their way into children’s hands.Matthew Staver for The New York TimesBy Jack Healy
- May 31, 2014
DENVER — Five months after Colorado became the first state to allow recreational marijuana sales, the battle over legalization is still raging.
Law enforcement officers in Colorado and neighboring states, emergency room doctors and legalization opponents increasingly are highlighting a series of recent problems as cautionary lessons for other states flirting with loosening marijuana laws.
There is the Denver man who, hours after buying a package of marijuana-infused Karma Kandy from one of Colorado’s new recreational marijuana shops, began raving about the end of the world and then pulled a handgun from the family safe and killed his wife, the authorities say. Some hospital officials say they are treating growing numbers of children and adults sickened by potent doses of edible marijuana. Sheriffs in neighboring states complain about stoned drivers streaming out of Colorado and through their towns.
“I think, by any measure, the experience of Colorado has not been a good one unless you’re in the marijuana business,” said Kevin A. Sabet, executive director of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, which opposes legalization. “We’ve seen lives damaged. We’ve seen deaths directly attributed to marijuana legalization. We’ve seen marijuana slipping through Colorado’s borders. We’ve seen marijuana getting into the hands of kids.”
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THIRTY (30) REASONS WHY POT RAISES RISKS OF DAMAGE TO SOCIETY INCLUDING PARENTAL SEPARATION: U.S BUREAU OF JUSTICE STATISTICS FACTS WWW.DRUGWARFACTS.ORG FACTOIDS
DATE COMPILED BY JEFFREY G. NUTT: JULY 26, 2018
SOURCE: https://www.bjs.gov/content/dcf/duc.cfm
1. A third of the parents in state prison reported committing their current offense while under the influence of drugs. Parents were most likely to report the influence of cocaine-based drugs (16%) and marijuana (15%) while committing their crime. About equal percentages of parents in state prison reported the use of opiates (6%) and stimulates (5%) at the time of their offense, while 2% used depressants or hallucinogens.
2. Thirty-two percent of mothers in state prison reported committing their crime to get drugs or money for drugs, compared to 19% of fathers.
Source: BJS, Incarcerated Parents and Their Children, NCJ 182335, August 2000.
3. Jail inmates
Of inmates held in jail, only convicted offenders were asked if they had used drugs at the time of the offense. In 2002, 29% of convicted inmates reported they had used illegal drugs at the time of the offense. Marijuana and cocaine or crack were the most common drugs convicted inmates said they had used at the time of the offense --
- 14% had used marijuana in 2002.
- 11% had used cocaine or crack.
4. Marijuana (10%) was the most commonly used drug among probationers at the time of the offense.
5. Two-thirds of Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) offenders on probation reported using drugs in the past. Among DWI probationers, marijuana (65%) and stimulants (29%) were the most commonly used drugs.
6. Seventeen percent of those on probation reported drug use in the month prior to arrest.
Prior drug use reported by probationers
Percent of probationers
Level of prior drug use
DWI offenders or Other offenders
Ever used drugs 67.9%
Ever used Marijuana 69.9%
7. Of those inmates held in local jails, only convicted offenders were asked if they had used drugs in the time leading up to their current offense. In 2002, 55% of convicted jail inmates reported they had used illegal drugs during the month before their offense, unchanged from 1996.
- marijuana use in the month before the offense increased from 36% to 37%;
- stimulants increased from 10% to 11%; and
- cocaine or crack use decreased from 23% to 21%.
8. A higher percentage of jail inmates in 2002 than in 1996 reported regular drug use (used drugs at least once a week for at least a month).
Source: BJS, Substance Dependence, Abuse, and Treatment of Jail Inmates, 2002, NCJ 209588, July 2005.
9. In 2004 state prisoner reports of lifetime drug use stayed at 83%, while federal inmates rose to 79%. This increase was mostly due to a rise in the percentage of federal prisoners reporting prior use of marijuana (from 53% in 1991 to 71% in 2004).
10. The proportion of state prison inmates reporting the past use of cocaine or crack declined slightly between 1997 (49%) and 2004 (47%). Marijuana use (78%) remained stable since 1997 (77%), and remained the most commonly used drug.
11. Although the proportion of federal prisoners held for drug offenses dropped from 63% in 1997 to 55% in 2004, the percentage of all federal inmates who reported using drugs in the month before the offense rose from 45% to 50%.
12. Drug use by state prisoners, 1997 and 2004
Percent of inmates who had ever used drugs
Type of drug2004 / 1997
Any drug 83% / 83%
Marijuana78% / 77%
13. Percent of parents in state prison who used drugs in the month before the current offense, 1997:
Marijuana 39%
14. In 2013, the rate of current marijuana use was higher for males than females aged 12 to 17 (7.9 vs. 6.2 percent),
15. Among youths aged 12 to 17, the rate of substance dependence or abuse among males was not different from the rate among females in 2011 (6.9 percent for each)."
16. Growth in Incarceration Rates, 1995-2005
Since 1995 the total number of male prisoners has grown 34%; the number of female prisoners, 57%.
17. At yearend 2005, 1 in every 1,538 women and 1 in every 108 men were incarcerated in a State or Federal prison.
18. The nation’s prisons held approximately 744,200 fathers and 65,600 mothers at midyear 2007.
19. Midyear 2007, fathers in prison reported having 1,559,200 children; mothers reported 147,400.
20. Children with Parents in Prison
Since 1991, the number of children with a mother in prison has more than doubled, up 131%.
21. Since 1991, the number of children with a father in prison has grown by 77%.
22. There is a trend since 1991 that reflects a faster rate of growth in the number of mothers held in state and federal prisons (up 122%), compared to the number of fathers (up 76%) between 1991 and midyear 2007.
23. Of the estimated 74 million children in the U.S. resident population who were under age 18 on July 1, 2007, 2.3% had a parent in prison. Black children (6.7%) were seven and a half times more likely than white children (0.9%) to have a parent in prison. Hispanic children (2.4%) were more than two and a half times more likely than white children to have a parent in prison.
25. Children of Incarcerated Women
More than 70 percent of women in prison have children.
26. Even before a mother’s arrest and separation from the family unit, many children will have experienced emotional hardship associated with parental substance abuse and economic instability.
27. While a parent is incarcerated they may suffer additional trauma, anxiety, guilt, shame and fear.
28. More than half of mothers in prison have no visits with their children for the duration of their time behind bars.
29. Children are generally subject to instability and uncertainly while their mothers [or fathers] are imprisoned.
30. Due to drugs and crime, victims suffer and people die including people in custody. Source: https://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=atoz#d
See Index A-Z at D topics below.
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