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In Alabama, a judge was required to sentence the possessor of one marijuana cigarette to not less than five years; he could hand down a ten year sentence, and as much as forty years for a second-possession offense. Suspended sentences and probation were prohibited in all cases.
In Colorado, the mandatory minimum for a first-possession offense was two years and for a first-sale offense ten years; no parole was permitted until these minimum sentences had been served.
In Georgia, sale of marijuana to a minor was punishable by life imprisonment, even if it was a first offense-though the jury could recommend ten-to-twenty years instead. A second such offense was punishable by death-but the jury could recommend life imprisonment or ten to twenty years instead. No mitigation of sentence (suspension, probation, or parole) was permitted; the constitutionality of this clause was in question.
In Illinois, the penalty for a first-sale offense was not less than ten years and as much as life. A mandatory life sentence was in effect for a second-sale offense. These penalties remained in effect after a 1968 amendment to the law reduced the penalties for possession of small amounts.
In Louisiana, anyone over twenty-one years of age possessing marijuana was subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of five years at hard labor for a first offense; the judge could impose a fifteen-year sentence. Possessors under twenty-one could be sentenced to not more than ten years, with or without hard labor. An adult selling marijuana to another adult was subject to a minimum mandatory sentence of ten years at hard labor and a maximum sentence of fifty years at hard labor for a first offense. If the seller were under twenty-one, sentences ranged from five to fifteen years. If the buyer were under twenty-one, however, a first-sale offense required a mandatory minimum sentence of thirty years at hard labor and could draw a death sentence. No suspended sentences or probation was permitted for any sale offenses or for second-possession offenses.
In Massachusetts, it was a felony punishable by not more than five years in prison to be in a place where marijuana was kept or deposited, or to be in the company of anyone known to be in illegal possession of marijuana.
In Missouri, the judge could hand down a life sentence for a second possession offense or a first-sale offense, without possibility of suspended sentence, probation, or parole. If the buyer were a minor, a death sentence was possible for a first-sale offense.
In Rhode Island, a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years was decreed for a first offense of possession with intent to sell. The mandatory minimum for the first actual sale was twenty years, and a forty-year first offense sentence could be imposed.
In Texas, the penalty for a first-possession offense was not less than two years, but the judge could impose a life sentence for a first-possession offense. A second-possession offense carried a mandatory minimum ten year sentence or a possible life sentence.
In Utah a life sentence was possible for a first marijuana sale offense or for a second possession-with-intent-to-sell offense.

 Congress also from time to time escalated federal marijuana penalties along with federal heroin penalties. In 1951, mandatory minimum sentences were fixed for all marijuana offenses, and, all but first-time off enders were rendered ineligible for suspended sentence or probation. In 1956, the mandatory minimum for first-offense possession was fixed at two years (with a ten-year term possible). The mandatory minimum for a second possession offense was fixed at five years (with a twenty-year term possible), with parole as well as probation and suspended sentence prohibited. For sale offenses, the mandatory minimum was set at five years for a first offense and ten years for a second; terms of twenty years for a first offense and forty for a second were possible-and parole as well as suspended sentence and probation were banned for all sale offenses.31

The Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 19710 subsequently reduced federal penalties for marijuana possession.

As in the case of similar penalties for the possession or sale of heroin, these "mandatory" penalties were in fact rarely invoked; the offender was usually allowed to plead guilty to a lesser offense. When extreme penalties were handed down, there usually appeared to be some other reason- some conduct or advocacy-aside from involvement with marijuana. Ordinary people, it is commonly agreed, rarely draw such sentences. "In California," one youth leader explains, "it is illegal to smoke marijuana unless you have your hair cut at least once a month."32 The children of governors, senators, and others in the public eye, when arrested for marijuana offenses, rarely receive even short prison terms. Inequities of sentencing are no doubt among the factors bringing the marijuana laws, and drug law enforcement generally, into disrepute.

Continuing antimarijuana propaganda kept pace with the continuing antimarijuana legislation after 1937. And people generally believed the propaganda. In a National Institute of Public Opinion (Gallup) poll of a cross-section of 1,539 adults in 300 localities, made in October 1969, only 12 percent of the respondents thought that use of marijuana should be legalized; 84 percent were opposed, and 4 percent had no opinion. Among grade-school children, opposition to marijuana was even more prevalent; 6 percent thought it should be legalized, while 91 percent were opposed, and 3 percent had no opinion.33 When adult respondents were asked to describe the effects of smoking marijuana, they gave the following replies.34

  Percent of Respondents

Harms mind and nervous system 17

Leads to use of stronger drugs 12

Dulls the senses 9

Harmful to the health 9

Makes user "high" 8

Addictive, habit-forming 7

Makes user lose control of his actions 7

Leads to irresponsibility, affects judgment 3

Neither habit-forming nor harmful 3

Leads to crime 1

Harmful to unborn children 1

General1v unfavorable comments 6

Miscellaneous 1

Unable to give answer 35
 
Total 119

 "The total adds up to more than 100 percent since some persons gave more than one response," the Gallup organization explained. That only 3 percent of respondents considered marijuana "neither habit-forming nor harmful" is worthy of particular note. From the point of view of anti-marijuana laws and anti-marijuana publicity alike, the United States in the 1960s was superbly protected against this hated drug.