With legislation varying from State to State, and an increased social tolerance for marijuana use, questions surrounding how the substance should be legislated have reached the Federal level.

On July 10, 2019, the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on “Marijuana Laws in America: Racial Justice and the Need for Reform.”

Ideas addressed included the question of Federal decriminalization of marijuana, regulation of marijuana along the lines of how alcohol is controlled, and the racial lines along which prosecution of marijuana possession falls.

At the hearing, Marilyn J. Mosby, the State’s Attorney for Baltimore City, Maryland, said that as of January 2019, her office stopped putting resources toward prosecuting marijuana possession charges. She said:

        “[M]ass incarceration for drug offenses has devastating consequences for those incarcerated and their families and communities. Excessive punishment of drug crimes perpetuates the cycles of generational trauma and socioeconomic marginalization that, in turn, intensify the social determinants of drug use.”      

Mosby said that her reasoning was based upon national data demonstrating that despite similar rates of marijuana use in both black and white populations, black people were four times more likely to be arrested for possessing the drug.

David L. Nathan, the founder and Board President of Doctors for Cannabis Regulation, testified at the hearing that marijuana is not highly addictive, and causes neither violence nor fatal overdoses. Marijuana is less “harmful to adults than alcohol and tobacco,” he said.

Nathan emphasized that legalizing marijuana use for adults would not legalize it for minors, and that teenagers should avoid the substance.

        “Some have argued that if cannabis is legal for adults, then minors will think it’s safe for them. But when cannabis is against the law, the government sends the message that cannabis is dangerous for everyone. Teenagers know that’s not true. By creating a legal distinction between cannabis use by adults and minors, we teach our children a respect for scientific evidence — and the sanctity of the law.”        

For background, see the February 2018 article in Congressional Digest on “Marijuana Law Enforcement,” the March 2015 article “D.C. Marijuana Initiative,” and the October 2014 issue on “Marijuana Policy.”