Fifty years ago today, a Congressionally-appointed commission on U.S. drug policy did something extraordinary. They called for the repeal of the federal prohibition of marijuana.
On March 22, 1972, the National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse — the first, and to date, the only blue-ribbon committee ever appointed to make recommendations on federal cannabis policy — advised Congress to amend federal law so that the personal use and possession of the plant would no longer be treated as a criminal offense. State legislatures, the commission added, should do likewise.
After conducting a comprehensive two-year study of cannabis’ health and safety effects, members of the 13-member commission — which included nine hand-picked appointees of then-President Richard Nixon — determined: “[T]he criminal law is too harsh a tool to apply to personal possession even in the effort to discourage use. It implies an overwhelming indictment of the behavior which we believe is not appropriate. The actual and potential harm of use of the drug is not great enough to justify intrusion by the criminal law into private behavior, a step which our society takes only with the greatest reluctance.”
The commission, therefore, recommended that the “possession of marijuana for personal use no longer be an offense, [and that the] casual distribution of small amounts of marihuana for no remuneration, or insignificant remuneration, no longer be an offense.”
This policy recommendation, now commonly referred to as ‘decriminalization,’ acknowledged that the use of cannabis was not altogether harmless, but wisely recognized that its potential risks to both the individual and to society were not so great as to warrant the criminal prosecution and incarceration of those who consumed it.
Nonetheless, despite having commissioned the report, Congress and the Nixon administration summarily rejected its findings. Since then, an estimated 30 million Americans have been arrested for violating state and federal marijuana laws. Over 80 percent of those arrested over these past three decades were prosecuted for offenses related to the personal possession of cannabis — the very offense that the commission urged Congress and state lawmakers to repeal.
Fast forward to today and much of the narrative surrounding federal cannabis policy has evolved. In the U.S. House and Senate, members of both parties have publicly introduced legislation, such as The Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement (MORE) Act or The States Reform Act, to repeal the federal laws criminalizing cannabis. In the months prior to his election, even President Joe BidenJoe BidenEx-Trump personal assistant appears before Jan. 6 panel Defense & National Security — Russia sends warnings to the West On The Money — Feds propose new disclosure rule for public companies MORE promised support for loosening federal marijuana restrictions and for expunging the records of those with past convictions. Most recently, Senate Majority Leader Chuck SchumerChuck SchumerOn The Money — Feds propose new disclosure rule for public companies Cannabis industry goes all-in on banking push before midterms Title 42 anniversary marks headaches for Biden, stalemate with lawmakers MORE (D-N.Y.) promised to introduce legislation to deschedule marijuana, thereby providing states with the power to set their own cannabis policies free from federal interference. Yet despite lawmakers’ lip service, marijuana still remains classified federally as a Schedule I controlled substance — in the same category as heroin — and hundreds of thousands of Americans are still being arrested annually for possessing it.
Fifty years ago, the Nixon administration had an unprecedented opportunity to enact a rational marijuana policy. They were provided with the truth about cannabis, but they refused to listen.
Today, the case for legalizing marijuana is stronger than ever. Nearly…
Read More: 50 years ago, Congress was advised to amend cannabis laws: What’s the delay?