Philadelphia Weekly

Of all the failures of the war on drugs, none is more obvious than the prohibition of marijuana.

In 2006 more than 800,000 people were arrested on marijuana charges, almost 90 percent for simple possession. In Philadelphia that same year, 6,572 people were arrested on marijuana charges. Nearly 80 percent were black.

Marijuana usage remains high despite worldwide prohibition. In their landmark book Marijuana Myths, Marijuana Facts, Lynn Zimmer and John Morgan write that there's "no detectable relationship between changes in enforcement and levels of marijuana use over time."

They also point out that pot smoking increased in the 1990s among youth--who were subjected to the largest anti-marijuana campaign in history.

It's been more than 36 years since a national commission appointed by President Richard Nixon and headed by former Pennsylvania Gov. Raymond Shafer recommended the decriminalization of up to 100 grams (3.5 ounces, or about 100 joints) of marijuana for personal use.

The Shafer Commission wrote that 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."

Twelve states decriminalized marijuana in the 1970s.

But no bill has been introduced in Congress to decriminalize marijuana since 1984; the Shafer Commission's recommendations remain ignored.

Until two weeks ago.

Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank recently introduced a bill that would implement the Shafer Commission's recommendations 36 years later.

"I think it's time for politicians to catch up with the public," Frank said on Real Time With Bill Maher. "The notion that you lock up people for smoking marijuana is pretty silly. I'm going to call it the 'Make Room for Serious Criminals' bill."

The bill, of course, is largely a symbolic effort. State prohibitions of marijuana would still exist. There aren't enough votes in Congress to pass a marijuana decriminalization bill--and during a contested election season there isn't the political will to get a hearing.

"No one is naive enough to believe a committee chair is going to schedule a hearing on a controversial issue," says Keith Stroup, a 64-year-old Washington lawyer, founder of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, and longtime pot smoker.

But Frank's bill shouldn't be controversial. Sixty thousand people are currently behind bars for nonviolent marijuana offenses. Nearly $10 billion is spent each year arresting, processing and prosecuting marijuana offenders.

Marijuana is a drug, and can cause problems for users--same as alcohol or tobacco. But the penalties for marijuana are much greater than the threat the drug poses.

You can't overdose on marijuana. And a 1999 Institute of Medicine study concluded that the "gateway theory" of marijuana leading to harder drugs is unfounded.

Although most pot smokers who get caught don't go to prison, they face loss of federal benefits, student loans and child custody, as well as possible civil asset forfeitures.

Under presidents Clinton and George W. Bush, even medical marijuana patients in states that have legalized the drug for medical use still face prosecution under federal law.

Since many people quit smoking marijuana because of workplace drug testing, decriminalizing the drug would likely lead to increased usage among adults as a result of the milder stigma. But the legal status of marijuana has little to no bearing on most people's decision to use it.