Dishonest Prosecutor Claims an Ounce of Marijuana Can Make 1,000 Joints

Here's another example of the absurd and deceitful tactics that inevitably characterize any argument against reforming marijuana laws:

Since recreational marijuana use was decriminalized in Massachusetts last year, pot-related trafficking and violence have escalated across the state, frustrated law enforcement officials tell the Herald.

Smoking weed is not a victimless crime, they say.

“We knew it was going to be a nightmare for public safety and law enforcement. An ounce of marijuana can make a thousand joints,” Middlesex District Attorney Gerard T. Leone Jr. said. [Boston Herald]

Trying to make an ounce of marijuana sound like a really big deal is the typical crap you'd expect from a guy like this, but he just took it way too far. As Pete Guither points out, "that would mean you’d have to make over 35 joints per gram." To understand how painfully insane this is, consider that a gram is the weight of 1 tobacco cigarette. That means you get around 28 cigarette-sized joints from an ounce of pot. Unless Jesus Christ is breaking up the bud, your ounce will not yield 1,000 joints.

Of course, as plainly ridiculous as all of this sounds to most of us, we're not the intended audience for lies like these. The purpose here is purely to capitalize on the cluelessness of those who know nothing about pot, given that few people who've ever actually handled an ounce of it are likely to support arresting people for that anyway. It's a cynical ploy, but one that's worth addressing, if only to illustrate the staggering mendacity our opponents are capable of.

Whether an ounce equals one joint or a thousand, the number of people who should go to jail over it is zero. That principle has already been embraced by the people of Massachusetts, and no amount of mindless fear-mongering is going to make them change their minds.