It could very well be that in decades past people spent years in prison in some states for possession of marijauna. It would have been rare, and is even rarer (nonexistent) today.
It wasn't too long ago that rape and horse-theft were punishable by death in many states. In fact, in the America of the late 19th Century--a time most pro-dopers remember fondly as the time of great libertarian freedom--there were many, many extremely harsh laws on the books that punished behavior that libertarians cherish today as unalienable rights, e.g., sodomy, adultery, even keeping a business open on Sundays. About the only thing desirable (from a pro-dope point-of-view) was that you could get fried on opium (laudunum), and whacky-tabacky wasn't really on anyone's radar screen yet.
To return to the point of this thread, the army of millions of suffering prisoners-for-dope-alone is an illusion created by pro-dope agitators.
The quote that ("Trafficking" includes "possession with intent to distribute.") is totally misleading regardless of it’s source.
The difference between possession and possession with intent to distribute is determined by weight in possession. The difference between possession/possession with intent varies widely across the nation. In some large metropolitan counties with multiple jurisdictions, it’s not uncommon for there to be five or more weight standards defining possession with intent (on this block it’s simple possession, go down three blocks it’s possession with intent).
With very, very few exceptions, possession is a simple misdemeanor no different then jay walking. Very few people spent any significant jail time for this level of misdemeanor. Now, possession with intent to distribute, or in some jurisdictions in a school zone, becomes gross misdemeanor or felony; again, this is usually determined by amount and circumstances.
To say that there are this many people presently incarcerated for simple possession is either ludicrous or they are all confined to a couple of jurisdictions somewhere that no one’s ever heard of.
Dood, please answer the question - Has ANYONE ever been imprisoned for smoking pot?
From the source cited by Trailerpark Badass in post #10 of this thread:
"as adjusted for the June 1998 prisoner counts, there would be 7,400 state prisoners and 2,300 federal prisoners incarcerated for marijuana possession only, for a total of 9,700 prisoners."
Not exactly "millions," but not exactly "rare" or "nonexistent" either.