Myth: Marijuana Offenses Are Not Severely Punished

Few marijuana law violators are arrested and hardly anyone goes to prison. This lenient treatment is responsible for marijuana continued availability and use.

Fact: Marijuana arrests in the United States doubled between 1991 and 1995. In 1995, more than one-half-million people were arrested for marijuana offenses. Eighty-six percent of them were arrested for marijuana possession. Tens of thousands of people are now in prison or marijuana offenses. An even greater number are punished with probation, fines, and civil sanctions, including having their property seized, their driver's license revoked, and their employment terminated. Despite these civil and criminal sanctions, marijuana continues to be readily available and widely used.

• United States. Federal Bureau of Investigation. Uniform Crime Reports for the United States. 1996. Washington: U. S. Dept. of Justice, 1997.

• Gettman, Jon B. National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. Crimes of Indescretion: Marijuana arrests in the United States. Washington: NORML, 2005.

• Marijuana Policy Project. Smoke a Joint, Lose Your License. July 1995 Status Report. Washington: MPP, 1995.

• Treaster, J. “Miami Beach’s New Drug Weapon Will Fire Off Letters to the Employer” New York Times 23 February 1991: A9.

• Reed, T.G. “American Forfeiture Law: Property Owners Meet the Prosecutor.” Policy Analysis 179 (1992): 1-32.