“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.”
NORML Summer ‘26 Intern Caroline Breen outlines the parallel histories and failures of alcohol and marijuana prohibition.
“Marijuana-related prosecutions remain the primary driver of drug war enforcement in those states where cannabis remains criminalized, whereas, with few exceptions, marijuana-related arrests fall precipitously in jurisdictions that legalize and regulate the adult-use cannabis market.”
Saturday, August 2nd, marks the 88th anniversary of the signing of the Marihuana Tax Act, the first federal marijuana prohibition law.
Since its inception, the criminalization of the marijuana plant and the stigmatization of those who consume it has been predicated almost entirely upon the promotion of gross exaggerations, racial stereotypes, and outright lies.
Despite growing public support for legalization, there remains a vocal yet powerful minority intent on maintaining the failed policy of cannabis criminalization.
Marijuana prohibition has been a fraud from the beginning — often propagated by politicians and bureaucrats who were in on the sham. It’s high time we end it.
Officials in the United States should do all they can to free Griner, but just as important, end the hypocrisy of acting repulsed by her sentencing while maintaining marijuana criminalization at home by bringing our domestic marijuana policies in line with our nation’s stated principles of liberty and justice.