“In many prohibition states, a significant portion of law enforcement and prosecutorial resources are still being directed toward arresting tens of thousands of cannabis consumers for activities that are now perfectly legal in nearly half of this country.”
“Today, the threat of arrest for cannabis possession largely comes down to geography.”
“Hundreds of thousands of Americans continue to be arrested annually for low-level cannabis-related violations even though a majority of voters no longer believe that the responsible use of marijuana by adults should be a crime.”
“We find that state legalization of recreational marijuana substantially reduced the arrests and disciplinary incidents for drug law violations. … The decreases in arrests after legalization are especially steep at public institutions [and at] four-year institutions.”
Federal law enforcement officials in 2025 charged fewer than 400 people with marijuana trafficking, the lowest total ever.
“The status quo is not an option. The Council agrees that a well-regulated market … is a safer market.”
Now is not the time for the cannabis community to rest on the laurels of its past successes or to presume that someone else is going to finish the job.
The overwhelming majority of those arrested were charged with low-level marijuana possession — not cultivation, trafficking, or sales.