The Legislative Response to Marihuana: When the Shoe Pinches Enough

Abstract

The emergence of marihuana in the United States from an obscure drug used mainly by members of minority groups and fringe elements, to the third most widely used recreational drug in the country (after tobacco and alcohol) and the most widely used illicit drug, was one of the major drug developments of the last decade. Similarly, the quick legislative response in reducing penalties for possession of marihuana for personal use (and in some cases for distribution also) is one of the most important legal developments of the decade.¹ Legislative change—particularly major penalty reductions in criminal statutes—often proceeds at a glacial pace, but in the case of marihuana possession drastic changes in penalties came remarkably quickly, demonstrating that when the shoe pinches enough legislatures can and will respond. This article will examine the process of change in marihuana possession penalties in the last decade.