Marihuana Commission: Recommendations on Decriminalization
Before 1960, use of MARIJUANA in the United States was generally confined to drug-using subcultures in the inner cities or in rural areas. Sale and use of the drug were prohibited both by federal law and by the laws of every state. Because marijuana was classified in 1937 as a "narcotic drug," along with COCAINE and OPIATES, penalties were severe; simple possession for personal use was a felony in most states. During the 1960s, marijuana smoking suddenly became prevalent on college campuses—for the first time among white middle-class youth of the baby-boom generation. Marijuana use also became associated, as a protest behavior, with dissenters (both adults and youth) against the war in VIETNAM, and by the U.S. MILITARY serving in Vietnam, especially from 1963 to 1973. As use of the drug increased, so did the number of arrests and so did the surrounding controversy. Questions were raised about the actual effects of marijuana on the health and behavior of those who used it and about the wisdom of prevailing social policy.
In response to swirling controversy, many proposals were introduced in Congress for a commission to undertake an authoritative study of the marijuana issue. Eventually, in the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970, Congress established the NATIONAL COMMISSION ON MARIHUANA AND DRUG ABUSE to undertake a two-year study—the first year on marijuana and the second year on the causes of drug abuse in general.
The commission had thirteen members—four from Congress (two each from the House and the Senate) and nine appointed by the president. President Richard M. Nixon appointed Raymond P. Shafer, formerly governor of Pennsylvania, as chairman of the commission, and he appointed Dana L. Farnsworth, M.D., director of Student Health Services at Harvard University, to be vice-chairman. The executive director was Michael R. Sonnenreich, formerly the deputy chief counsel of the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs of the Justice Department.
The commission assimilated the available literature on marijuana use and its effects and also sponsored its own research, including a national survey of use patterns and public attitudes, and a study of enforcement of the marijuana laws in six jurisdictions. In March 1972, the commission issued its first report, Marihuana: A Signal of Misunderstanding.
Principal Findings
The commission estimated that although 24 million Americans had used marijuana at least once, about 50 percent had simply experimented with the drug out of curiosity and given it up. Among the 50 percent who had continued to use marijuana, most used it only occasionally, once a week or less, for recreational purposes. A small percentage of the more frequent users (about 2% of the total ever-using population—or 4% of the continuing users) used the drug more than once daily. Marijuana use was clearly age-related: about half of the ever-users were 16 to 25 years of age, and 44 percent of those who were currently in college or graduate school had used marijuana at least once.
The commission concluded that there was "little proven danger of physical or psychological harm from the experimental or intermittent use" of marijuana. "The risk of harm," it continued, "lies instead in the heavy, long-term use of the drug, particularly of its more potent preparations." Even this risk was of uncertain dimensions, the commission noted, because the psychological consequences of long-term heavy use were unknown. In light of the fact that 90 percent of marijuana users used the drug only experimentally or intermittently, the commission judged that "its use at the present level does not constitute a major threat to public health." The commission also specifically found that marijuana did not induce physical dependence; did not lead, by virtue of its pharmacology, to use of other drugs; and did not cause criminal behavior.
Policy Recommendations
The commission's principal policy recommendation was that possession of one ounce or less of marijuana for personal use be "decriminalized." At the same time, the commission rejected outright legalization of the drug and recommended perpetuation of prohibitions against cultivation and distribution for commercial purposes. The commission stipulated that social policy should aim to discourage use of the drug, but it emphasized that the costs of a criminal prohibition against possession far exceeded its benefits in suppressing use.
Although President Nixon disavowed the commission's principal recommendation on marijuana, it won widespread support. In 1973, the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws promulgated amendments to the Uniform Controlled Substances Act that codified the commission's recommendation. Some form of decriminalization was endorsed the same year by a variety of national organizations, including the American Bar Association and numerous state and local bar associations, the National Education Association, the Consumers' Union, the National Council of Churches, the American Public Health Association, and the governing board of the American Medical Association.
In 1973, Oregon became the first state to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana. Within the next five years, ten additional states eliminated incarceration as a penalty for simple possession, usually substituting a $100.00 fine. Five of these states made possession a "civil offense"; in others, it remained a criminal offense although the law typically contained a provision for expunction of criminal records after a specified period of time. Decriminalization of marijuana use was endorsed by President Jimmy Carter in 1977.
Political and legislative support for decriminalization began to wane, however, even during the Carter Administration. The more permissive stance on marijuana use implicit in decriminalization efforts led to mounting public resistance. Some of the strongest opposition came from groups of parents who organized to lobby for more focus on PREVENTION efforts. Although these parent groups were generally conservative politically, they gained a receptive ear in the Carter White House. Their arguments against decriminalization were bolstered by findings from the National High School Senior Survey showing that, starting in 1975, daily marijuana use had been increasing progressively among high school students. During the Reagan and Bush administrations the parents' movement and their concerns about marijuana use came to have a major influence on national drug policy. In the early 1990s, possession of the drug remained a criminal offense in most states, as well as under federal law.
