Data from the Survey of Inmates in Federal and State Correctional Facilities, 1997 are used to estimate the number of drug-law violators in U.S. prisons solely because of their drug use and not because of involvement in drug distribution or other offenses. The estimates (5,380 to 41,047) are much lower than would be implied by naively assuming that conviction for drug possession implies no involvement in drug distribution. Implied imprisonment risk per year of use is also low, perhaps an hour per year of use for marijuana, in part because expected time served is half that for those clearly involved in drug distribution.
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4.
Bureau of Justice Statistics and Federal Bureau of Prisons (2000a). Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities, 1997 [computer file].
5.
Bureau of Justice Statistics (2000b). Corrections Populations in the United States, 1997. NCJ 177613. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office.
6.
Bureau of Justice Statistics (2000c). Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities, 1997 [Codebook]. ICPSR (ed.). Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research.
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CaulkinsJonathan P.ChandlerSara (in submission). Long-Run Trends in Incarceration of Drug Offenders in the U.S.
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EveringhamS.S.RydellC.P. (1994). Modeling the Demand for Cocaine. MR-332-ONDCP/A/DPRC. RAND: Santa Monica, CA.
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GreenbergD.F.WestV. (2001). State Prison Populations and Their Growth, 1971–1991. Criminology, 39(3), 615–653.
10.
Human Rights Watch (1997). Cruel and Usual: Disproportionate Sentences for New York Drug Offenders. Human Rights Watch, 9(2B). Available athttp://www.hrw.org/reports/1997/usny/.
11.
KuhnA. (2001). Incarceration Rates Across the World. In TonryM. (ed.), Penal Reform in Overcrowded Times. New York: Oxford University Press.
KingR.S.MauerM. (2002). Distorted Priorities: Drug Offenders in State Prisons. Washington, DC: The Sentencing Project.
14.
MacCounRobertReuterPeter (2001). Drug War Heresies. New York: Cambridge University Press.
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MaguireK.PastoreA.L. (1997). Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics. Washington, DC: USGPO.
16.
Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) (2001). What America's Users Spend on Illegal Drugs. Washington, DC: The White House.
17.
Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) (2005). Who's Really in Prison for Marijuana?Washington, DC: The White House.
18.
SevignyE.CaulkinsJ.P. (2004). Kingpins or Mules: An Analysis of Drug Offenders Incarcerated in Federal and State Prisons. Criminology and Public Policy, 3(3), 401–434.
19.
StataCorp. (2003a). Stata User's Guide: Release 8.0. College Station, TX: Stata Corporation.
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StataCorp. (2003b). Stata Survey Data Reference Manual: Release 8.0. College Station, TX: Stata Corporation.
21.
ThomasChuck (1999). Marijuana Arrests and Incarceration in the United States. Federation of American Scientists Drug Policy Analysis Bulletin, Issue #7, 5–7.
