Prison rape in the US.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prison_rape_in_the_United_States

The United States has many many prisons being run "for profit" as private businesses. This means that to these officials more inmates = more money coming in to them... and for the states that allow these it means less of a strain on their resources AND they can collect taxes paid by the business and it's employees in the form of income taxes.

We allow Federal laws to keep marijuana illegal when we know it is less harmful than alcohol - and less likely to cause related deaths. The Federal government has these laws because police make money from 'drug enforcement' grants, prisons make money by getting more inmates, and the cotton and paper industries make money by the government not allowing farmers to grow hemp to use for paper, clothing, ropes, and multitudes of other items that would be produced faster and cheaper with hemp than with cotton or wood/paper.

The United States has the highest percentage of population incarcerated of ANY COUNTRY IN THE WORLD and the highest percentage of inmates are arrested for........ DRUG OFFENSES. So we get prisons over crowded to maximize profit and over work prison officials. We get prison guards deciding to allow rape and assaults to let the population 'self govern' to keep their jobs easier to do (Why use all the manpower to keep control when you can let the inmates handle small disputes by raping or assaulting each other under 'prison justice'?).

I mean what a shocker... people who broke a law and got caught are now in prison breaking laws? Who would have thought that was possible?! Even bigger shock - people who get 'life sentences' and will never get out of prison anyway are committing heinous acts of violence and rape (even murder) against prisoners who may only have a 1-3 yr sentence for possession or sales of marijuana... and this is 'American Justice' as we allow it?

I would like to take a moment to thank President Richard Nixon for starting this 'war on drugs' and to thank Ronald Reagan for kicking it in the pants and really funding the hell out of it so that it could become the COLOSSAL waste of money that it is today!

While we have daily deaths from drunk driving, alcohol poisonings, and alcohol related incidents... and all of the alcohol fueled rapes, murders and assaults... not one single overdose, driving fatality, rape or assault can be attributed to or be blamed on marijuana (and only marijuana) use... though serious snacking, giggling, poor judgment in music and clothing choices can be. Yes, some murders can be attributed to marijuana - but that is solely because marijuana hes been kept illegal... and therefore a very profitable underground business - so people will use force to keep that business going. You make marijuana legal... violence associated with marijuana goes away - why risk being shot over marijuana when you can go to a corner store and buy a joint?