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Argument: Marijuana decriminalization does not increase use
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The Netherlands, which has permitted the possession and retail sale of marijuana since 1976, ranks lower than the United States in the percentage of people who have ever used marijuana in every age category, has a higher age of initiation among those that do try marijuana, and fewer adolescents in the Netherlands than in the United States use other illegal drugs.[1]
Eleven states already consider possession a civil offense, including New York, Maine, Nevada and even Mississippi. In those places, lower penalties have been in place for as long as 30 years. Several studies could find no significant difference in marijuana use in those states as opposed to states with criminal penalties.
In 1997, the Connecticut Law Revision Commission examined states that had decriminalized marijuana and found any increase in marijuana usage was less than the increase in states that have not decriminalized marijuana; furthermore, the commission stated "the largest proportionate increase [of marijuana use] occurred in those states with the most severe penalties." The study recommended Connecticut reduce marijuana possession of 28.35 grams (one ounce) or less for adults age 21 and over to a civil fine.[32]
In 1999, a study by the Division of Neuroscience and Behavioral Health at the Institute of Medicine entitled "Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base," concluded "there is little evidence that decriminalization of marijuana use necessarily leads to a substantial increase in marijuana use."[33]
In 2001, a report by Robert MacCoun and Peter Reuter entitled "Evaluating alternative cannabis regimes," was published in the The British Journal of Psychiatry. The report found there was no available evidence marijuana use would increase if marijuana were decriminalized.[46]
In 2004, a study entitled "The Limited Relevance of Drug Policy: Cannabis in Amsterdam and in San Francisco," found strict laws against marijuana use have a low impact on usage rates.[36]