Cannabis, also known as marijuana, has a complicated history in the United States. The public’s sentiment towards marijuana has historically been conflated with race, crime, and morality. It is this complicated relationship that makes the rapid change in support for marijuana law reform a surprising phenomenon. In 1996, California pioneered the pro-legalization movement by becoming the first state to legalize marijuana for medicinal use in defiance of federal law. In 2012, Colorado and Washington continued the trend when they became the first states to legalize marijuana for recreational use.

In the U.S., cultivation of the plant dates back to the early colonists who grew hemp to make textiles and rope, as well as to treat nausea. Its introduction as a recreational substance began during the early 20th century when Mexican migrants came to the United States to flee the Mexican Revolution. Immediately, this became an issue for the American government, which turned its attention towards this minority population in the form of anti-immigrant sentiment and racist stereotypes.

In 1937, Congress passed the first federal law addressing the use of marijuana as a recreational substance—the “Marihuana Tax Act.” This law required anyone who grew, distributed, or used marijuana to register with the federal government and pay a small tax. The Marihuana Tax Act was not created with the intention to outlaw cannabis, rather it was a way for the federal government to collect identifying information for those involved in the cannabis business in an effort to keep track of them and ultimately survey their activities.

In 1970, then-President Richard Nixon signed into law the “Controlled Substances Act,” which essentially replaced the Marihuana Tax Act and combined all prior existing federal drug laws into a single statute. This Act created a scheduling system that classified drugs based on their medicinal value and potential for abuse. In this process, marijuana was listed as a Schedule I drug. Schedule I is reserved for the most dangerous drugs deemed to have no medicinal value and high potential for abuse. In order to understand this arbitrary classification of marijuana as a Schedule I drug, it is necessary to highlight that the determination of the drugs’ classification was left to Nixon’s Attorney General John Mitchell, rather than to a physician such as the Surgeon General.

Nixon and Mitchell, who were both adamantly opposed to the use of marijuana because they associated it with the race riots of the 1960’s, had a difficult time convincing Congress that marijuana fit into Schedule I, together with heroin, ecstasy, and LSD. To persuade them, Nixon and Mitchell promised to form a commission dedicated to studying marijuana. The U.S. Congress agreed and marijuana was temporarily placed within Schedule I. Two years later, the Commission reported that contrary to public sentiment, marijuana users were not dangerous. The report compared marijuana to alcohol and recommended decriminalization of marijuana possession. Nixon ignored the Commission’s report and refused to accept its findings.

The consequences of this decision continue to resonate negatively in our society today. The criminalization of cannabis has led to a large number of people being charged and incarcerated simply for possessing small amounts of marijuana. According to the FBI, arrests for possessing marijuana are far greater than arrests for possessing any other type of drug. Furthermore, a 2020 ACLU analysis of FBI crime data found that Black Americans are nearly four times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than White Americans, despite similar rates in use between the two groups.

From an economic standpoint, the disconnect between federal and state law poses challenges that predominantly affect small businesses, but leaves the door wide open for bigger, more powerful companies to control the market. Because cannabis businesses are still considered to be engaging in criminal activity at the federal level, even when operating legally under state law, banks are often reluctant to offer banking services or loans due to the risk of violating federal law.

In the medical field, even though studies reveal that marijuana has medical properties that make it an effective treatment for post-chemotherapy nausea and for increasing the appetite of patients suffering from weight loss associated with anorexia disorders, marijuana’s current classification as a Schedule I substance prohibits its use even for medical purposes and inhibits scientific research.

Despite the history of increasingly draconian federal action against marijuana, the number of states liberalizing marijuana laws continue to increase. According to a recently updated marijuana legalization map, 16 states have legalized marijuana for adult recreational use while 37 state, including Florida, have legalized it for medical use. Additionally, 32 states have decriminalized marijuana. There are only six remaining states where marijuana is entirely illegal.

Legalization means a state eliminates its laws associated with possession and personal use of marijuana and sets quantity limits for possession. This allows individuals to possess and even grow a certain amount of marijuana without the risk of punishment. Moreover, legalization gives power to the state to regulate the market and establish a tax, which in turn benefits local and state jurisdictions, knocks out the black market for marijuana, and creates business opportunities as well as jobs.

Decriminalization entails no arrest, prison time, or criminal record for first-time offenders. In most states where marijuana is decriminalized, police officers may issue a citation for marijuana possession in the same way they would issue a traffic ticket. Decriminalization provides for more equity and fairness in the criminal justice system and saves taxpayers billions of dollars from curtailing enforcement activities.

Thus far, it has been proven that pro-marijuana legislation can provide more accurate justiciability, as well as medical and economic benefits. Additionally, studies show that despite warnings about using marijuana, there are no major health threats to definitively rule out legalization. Marijuana is here to stay. Why prolong the inevitable? It is time the federal government stops clinging to the status quo and its archaic marijuana criminal statutes and follow the lead of the states by amending or repealing the current classification of marijuana as a Schedule I substance.