Published: October 2010
Tools for Debate: U.S. Federal Government Data on Cannabis Prohibition
This report is also available in Spanish.
This report demonstrates the failure of U.S. marijuana prohibition and supports calls for evidence-based models to legalize and regulate the use of cannabis.
To date, an impact assessment of cannabis prohibition based on data derived through US federal government surveillance systems has been largely absent from international debates regarding the known impacts of cannabis prohibition and the potential impacts of a regulated (i.e., legal) market. Drawing upon cannabis surveillance systems funded by the US government, this report summarizes information about the impacts of US cannabis prohibition on cannabis seizures and arrests.
A supplementary fact sheet is also available in English & Spanish.