March 22, 2022 John,
Fifty years ago today, the first – and to date, the only – blue-ribbon committee 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 (a/k/a The Shafer Commission), advised Congress to amend federal law so that the personal use and possession of cannabis 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 its health and safety effects, the 13 members of the 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,’ was ignored by Congress and the Nixon Administration. However, numerous state legislatures, beginning with Oregon in 1973, quickly moved to enact the Commission’s recommendations.
Today, 31 states and the District of Columbia have enacted legislation either legalizing or decriminalizing the possession of marijuana for adults.
“The Commission’s recommendation to end marijuana possession arrests was totally unexpected at the time, with most observers anticipating the Commission to reinforce Nixon’s exaggerated fears of marijuana and to continue to support criminal prohibition,” recalls NORML’s founder, R. Keith Stroup – who testified on behalf of NORML at several meetings held by the National Commission prior to the publication of its report. He added, “The report was truly groundbreaking then and it has stood the test of time and remains pertinent now.”
In fact, one can argue that it is more pertinent now than ever. In the five decades since the Shafer Commission published its findings, 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.
It's time to say, “Enough is enough!”
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Today, the case for legalizing marijuana is stronger than ever. Nearly seven in ten voters believe that cannabis ought to be legal and the overwhelming majority of state governments have legalized and regulated its use and retail sale for either medical or recreational purposes.
Five decades following the release of the National Commission’s historic report, the time is well overdue for the Biden administration and for the 117th Congress to finally listen — and to act.
Please take time today, on the 50th anniversary of the release of the Shafer Commission’s report, to tell your members of Congress to advance The Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement (MORE) Act and to tell President Joe Biden to follow through on his promise to pardon those with federal marijuana convictions. And after you have done so, please consider making a generous donation to NORML so that we can continue to keep advocating on behalf of the passage of sensible marijuana reforms and so that we can continue our efforts to end the persecution and discrimination of those who consume cannabis responsibly.
TAKE ACTION NOW
TELL CONGRESS TO PASS THE MORE ACT AND END FEDERAL PROHIBITION
THEN
TELL JOE BIDEN TO KEEP HIS PROMISE AND PARDON MARIJUANA OFFENDERS
Thanks for all you do,
The NORML Team
P.S. Our efforts are supported by thousands of people throughout the country as we work to advance marijuana reform in all 50 states and the federal level. Can you kick in $5, $10 or $20 a month to help us keep going?
