Colorado Prisons Allowing Recreational Marijuana
The Colorado Department of Corrections is now allowing inmates to grow and consumeÂ recreational marijuana, in accordance with state law for the rest of the population. Prison Warden Tom Norton told the Rocky Mountain News, âWeâve already seen a decrease in violent crime within the jails. Snack food contraband is up 300 percent but thatâs to be expected. We will continue to monitor the marijuana program but so far so good.â Each inmate is allocated one gram of marijuana per day but additional weed can be earned through good behavior and prison work programs. All the marijuana is grown on prisons grounds. âThe inmates enjoy agricultural part of growing the cannabis plants,â Norton said. âWe have a waiting list of prisoners wanting to trim the buds. âWe keep half of the crop and the rest goes to local Colorado pot dispensaries. Our current projection indicates prison weed sales will cover thirty percent of the incarceration cost by 2020.â The strain of prison grown marijuana is known as âKonvict Kushâ and is rated highly by High Times magazine and qualified for the prestigious Cannabis Cup award for the year's best marijuana. Colorado inmates appreciate the freedom to smoke pot in prison but the irony is not lost on all the felons. Former small-time pot dealer Ben Salter told High Times, âItâs a bit funny because Iâm in prison for weed. âIf I was born just a few years later I would have been a successful small business owner instead of a felon.â Salterâs cellmate John Winston tells a different story. âIf I had used weed on the outside instead of crystal meth I doubt I would have killed that hooker. I guess you never know cause she was pretty nuts like most hookers. Maybe smoking weed would have helped her and she wouldnât be dead now. Hindsight is 20/20. âI donât even mind being put in the âhot boxâ now. In fact, I find it relaxing. It gives me time to think about my screenplay.â Colorado conducted a poll on the pot for prisoners program which came back overwhelmingly positive. âCertainly helps kill the time and makes the concrete cell more manageable,â Winston said. âOnly 17 years left on my sentence. Hey, maybe meth will be legal by the time I get out.â