Marijuana Policy Project

The Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act — sponsored by U.S. Rep. Henry Hyde (R-IL) — was signed into law by President Clinton on April 25, 2000. The bill signing was the culmination of years of work MPP and allies poured into reforming the badly flawed system of forfeiture. Since the mid-1980s, property forfeiture has become an increasingly popular tool of police agencies, particularly in efforts to curb illicit drug trafficking. Too often, however, the temptation of easy money and property has caused law-enforcement officers to target low-level marijuana consumers — or even "suspected" marijuana consumers — in their zeal to bolster their budgets. The Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act rectified many of these problems.