According to national polls — including Pew, Gallup, and CNN — a majority of Americans support making marijuana legal for adults’ use. Nine states and Washington, D.C. have legalized marijuana for individuals over 21, and eight of the states — Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington — have approved taking marijuana production and sales off the criminal market and regulating and taxing them.
The legalization and regulation of marijuana for adults has generated hundreds of millions of dollars in new tax revenue and created tens of thousands of jobs. It has also displaced the criminal market and freed up law enforcement resources to focus on serious crime. Meanwhile, teenagers’ marijuana use rates haven’t increased, and voter support has grown.
Below you will find more information about those laws and how they are working, along with materials to make the case for allowing adults to use a substance that is safer than alcohol.
1. The Case for Legalization and Regulation
- Top Ten Reasons to Tax and Regulate Marijuana
- Effective Arguments in Favor of Taxing & Regulating Marijuana
- Support for Marijuana Policy Reform: A Summary of State and National Polling
- Marijuana is Safer Than Alcohol
- Regulation Works
- Conservative Thinkers and Marijuana Policy Reform
- Marijuana Prohibition Facts
- Marijuana Prohibition and Racial Justice (brochure)
- The Case for Taxing and Regulating Marijuana Like Alcohol (brochure)
- Endorsements and Statements of Support for Taxing and Regulating Marijuana for Adult Use
2. Overviews of Bills and Laws
- Map of State Marijuana Laws
- Review of State Laws to Regulate Marijuana
- Canada’s Legalization and Regulation Law
- Model Tax and Regulate Bill Summary
- MPP’s Model State Bill to Replace Prohibition With Regulation
- Current Marijuana Policy Reform Bills
- Types of Marijuana Policy Reform Laws
3. Responding to Concerns
- Gateway Theory Debunked
- Regulating Marijuana Like Alcohol Does Not Cause Public Safety Problems
- Teens’ Marijuana Use Does Not Increase Following Marijuana Policy Reforms
- Regulating Marijuana and Protecting Youth
- Access to Marijuana Can Help Fight the Opioid Epidemic
4. Data From States That Have Legalized and Regulated Marijuana
- Colorado and Washington: Life After Legalization and Regulation
- Life After Legalization: Colorado Business Outlook
- Marijuana Tax Revenue in States that Regulate Marijuana for Adult Use
- Breakdown of Taxes in Adult-Use States
- Breakdown of Application, Licensing, and Renewal Fees in Adult-Use States
- Breakdown of License Numbers in Adult-Use States
5. Federal Policy
- What Does AG Sessions’ Marijuana Enforcement Memo Mean in Practice?
- Sessions’ Marijuana Enforcement Memo (January 4, 2018)
- U.S. Attorneys’ Comments Following A.G. Sessions Rescinding the Cole Memo
- State Marijuana Regulation Laws Are Not Preempted By Federal Law