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From NORML.ORG (22 March 2007)
See also: ‘Celebrating’ 35 Years of Failed Pot Policies

Urge Congress to Decriminalize Marijuana!

Dear Friend,

Thirty-five years ago today, a Congressionally mandated commission on US drug policy did something extraordinary: they told the truth about marijuana.

On March 22, 1972, the National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse — chaired by former Pennsylvania Governor Raymond P. Shafer — recommended Congress amend federal law so that the use and possession of pot would no longer be a criminal offense.

The Commission concluded: "[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 recommended, for the first time, that Congress enact a national policy of marijuana 'decriminalization,' whereby the possession of cannabis for personal use as well as the casual distribution of small amounts of marijuana for little-or-no remuneration would no longer be a criminal offense.

Then-President Richard Nixon, predictably, ignored the National Commission’s recommendations. However, NORML took the Commission’s report to the legislatures of nearly a dozen states — advocating that they enact the Marihuana Commission’s recommendations.

Thanks in large part to NORML’s effort, more than 30 percent of the U.S. population now lives under some form of marijuana decriminalization, and according to government and academic studies, these laws have not contributed to an increase in marijuana consumption or negatively impacted adolescent attitudes toward drug use. Nevertheless, Congress has refused for more than 35 years to have any serious legislative discussions on the topic of decriminalization. This attitude must change.

THE TRUTH HAS NO EXPIRATION DATE!

With the Democrat takeover in Congress, NORML believes that the federal government is primed, for the first time in over a decade, to hold legislative hearings on the subject of decriminalizing marijuana. NORML is working closely with Democratic leadership on this issue, and expects to see federal legislation introduced later this year to remove criminal penalties on the possession and use of cannabis by adults. However, in order to gather needed bi-partisan support for this effort, Congress needs to hear from you – articulately and often.

Please take a moment today, on the 35-year anniversary of the Marihuana Commission’s recommendations, to contact your federally elected representatives and tell them to amend federal law so that the adult possession and use of cannabis is no longer a criminal offense.

Consider this: Since the Marihuana Commission issued its recommendations 35 years ago —

• Approximately 16.5 million Americans have been arrested for marijuana violations – more than eighty percent of them on minor possession charges;
• US taxpayers have spent well over $20 billion dollars enforcing criminal marijuana laws, yet marijuana availability and use among the public remains virtually unchanged;
• Nearly one-quarter of a million Americans have been denied federal financial aid for secondary education because of anti-drug provisions to the Higher Education Act. Most of these applicants were convicted of minor marijuana possession offenses.
• Today, one in every eight inmates incarcerated for drug crimes is behind bars for pot, at a cost to taxpayers of more than $1 billion per year.

Tell Congress that the Marihuana Commission’s recommendation to cease arresting minor marijuana offenders was the right thing to do then and is the right thing to do now.

For your convenience, NORML has drafted a pre-written letter that will be automatically mailed to your Senator and House members here:

Sincerely, Paul Armentano
Senior Policy Analyst

NORML and the NORML Foundation
1600 K Street NW, Suite 501, Washington DC, 20006-2832
Tel: (202) 483-5500 • Fax: (202) 483-0057 • Email: norml@norml.org