Source: Sacramento News & Review (CA)
Author: David Downs
MARIJUANA BY THE NUMBERS
4: Number of persons approved by the federal government to smoke medical marijuana. ( according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration )
16: Number of medical-marijuana states.
750,000: Estimated number of qualified patients in California. ( according to NORML )
24.8 million: Estimated number of eligible patients under current state laws.
$1.7 billion: Estimated size of the annual medical-marijuana market in the United States.
$8.9 billion: Forecast size of the annual U.S. medical-marijuana market in 2016.
92: Percentage of the national medical-cannabis market located in California and Colorado.
$1.3 billion: Size of California medical-cannabis market.
$100 million: Amount the California Board of Equalization estimates it collects annually from the 8.75 percent sales tax levied on medical-marijuana dispensaries.
$175,000: Estimated tax revenue from dispensary and permit sales in the city of Sacramento.
$740,000: 2010 Oakland tax revenue from dispensary permits and sales. ( city of Oakland )
30,000: Estimated number of attendees at the International Cannabis & Hemp Expo in September 2011, held for the first time in front of Oakland City Hall.
$2.5 million: Amount the largest medical-marijuana collective in the world, Harborside Health Center, owes the IRS, because the IRS says medical cannabis dispensaries can't deduct business expenses.
$18 billion: Estimated size of the annual U.S. marijuana black market.
28 million: Estimated number of consumers of marijuana in the last year. ( U.S. Department of Justice )
9,000: Estimated number of full-time equivalent Drug Enforcement Administration agent positions budgeted for 2011-12. ( White House )
17,000 metric tons: Estimated annual marijuana production in the United States. ( according to the U.S. DOJ )
5,000 metric tons: Estimated annual marijuana production in the United States. ( according to RAND )
1: Percentage of total U.S. electricity generation estimated used by indoor-pot cultivation. ( Evan Mills, member, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change )
$302.81: The average price of an ounce of high-quality weed in California. ( www.priceofweed.com, December 21, 2011 )
$412.15: The average price of an ounce of high-quality weed in New York.
71.5: Percentage of U.S. teens who say cannabis is "fairly/very easy to obtain." ( National Institutes of Health )
67: Percentage of Americans thinking the "war on drugs" has been a failure ( Angus Reid Public Opinion Poll, August 2011 ).
1,200: Number of local chapters of the NAACP now working to end the Drug War after the group voted in October 2011, to call for the war's end. ( NAACP )
50: Percentage of Americans supporting marijuana legalization. ( Gallup )
97: Age of Doritos creator Arch West, who passed away in September 2011.
14.3 percent: Likelihood that a weekly cannabis smoker in the United States is obese. ( American Journal of Epidemiology, March 2011 )
22 percent: Likelihood that a cannabis abstainer in the United States is obese. ( American Journal of Epidemiology, March 2011 )
35,000: Number of doctors represented by the California Medical Association who, in October 2011, 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-a marijuana throat spray in stage-three clinical trials in the United States. ( GW Pharmaceuticals )
131 billion: Base pairs of the cannabis sativa genome sequenced and published for the first time. ( Medicinal Genomics )
19: Percentage decrease in traffic-accident fatality rate of 20- to 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 ( www.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 )
Author: David Downs
MARIJUANA BY THE NUMBERS
4: Number of persons approved by the federal government to smoke medical marijuana. ( according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration )
16: Number of medical-marijuana states.
750,000: Estimated number of qualified patients in California. ( according to NORML )
24.8 million: Estimated number of eligible patients under current state laws.
$1.7 billion: Estimated size of the annual medical-marijuana market in the United States.
$8.9 billion: Forecast size of the annual U.S. medical-marijuana market in 2016.
92: Percentage of the national medical-cannabis market located in California and Colorado.
$1.3 billion: Size of California medical-cannabis market.
$100 million: Amount the California Board of Equalization estimates it collects annually from the 8.75 percent sales tax levied on medical-marijuana dispensaries.
$175,000: Estimated tax revenue from dispensary and permit sales in the city of Sacramento.
$740,000: 2010 Oakland tax revenue from dispensary permits and sales. ( city of Oakland )
30,000: Estimated number of attendees at the International Cannabis & Hemp Expo in September 2011, held for the first time in front of Oakland City Hall.
$2.5 million: Amount the largest medical-marijuana collective in the world, Harborside Health Center, owes the IRS, because the IRS says medical cannabis dispensaries can't deduct business expenses.
$18 billion: Estimated size of the annual U.S. marijuana black market.
28 million: Estimated number of consumers of marijuana in the last year. ( U.S. Department of Justice )
9,000: Estimated number of full-time equivalent Drug Enforcement Administration agent positions budgeted for 2011-12. ( White House )
17,000 metric tons: Estimated annual marijuana production in the United States. ( according to the U.S. DOJ )
5,000 metric tons: Estimated annual marijuana production in the United States. ( according to RAND )
1: Percentage of total U.S. electricity generation estimated used by indoor-pot cultivation. ( Evan Mills, member, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change )
$302.81: The average price of an ounce of high-quality weed in California. ( www.priceofweed.com, December 21, 2011 )
$412.15: The average price of an ounce of high-quality weed in New York.
71.5: Percentage of U.S. teens who say cannabis is "fairly/very easy to obtain." ( National Institutes of Health )
67: Percentage of Americans thinking the "war on drugs" has been a failure ( Angus Reid Public Opinion Poll, August 2011 ).
1,200: Number of local chapters of the NAACP now working to end the Drug War after the group voted in October 2011, to call for the war's end. ( NAACP )
50: Percentage of Americans supporting marijuana legalization. ( Gallup )
97: Age of Doritos creator Arch West, who passed away in September 2011.
14.3 percent: Likelihood that a weekly cannabis smoker in the United States is obese. ( American Journal of Epidemiology, March 2011 )
22 percent: Likelihood that a cannabis abstainer in the United States is obese. ( American Journal of Epidemiology, March 2011 )
35,000: Number of doctors represented by the California Medical Association who, in October 2011, 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-a marijuana throat spray in stage-three clinical trials in the United States. ( GW Pharmaceuticals )
131 billion: Base pairs of the cannabis sativa genome sequenced and published for the first time. ( Medicinal Genomics )
19: Percentage decrease in traffic-accident fatality rate of 20- to 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 ( www.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 )
