cannabis than their peers in the rest of the US. In 1972, President Richard Nixon commissioned the National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse to produce In the United States, the non-medical use of cannabis is legalized in 24 states (plus Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia) and decriminalized in 7 states, as of November 2023. Decriminalization refers to a policy of reduced penalties for cannabis offenses, typically involving a civil penalty for possessing small amounts (similar to how a minor In 1972, President Richard Nixon commissioned the National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse to produce an in-depth report on cannabis. The report, "Marijuana: A Signal of Misunderstanding", found cannabis prohibition constitutionally suspect and stated regardless of whether the courts would overturn the prohibition of cannabis possession, the executive and legislative branches have a duty to obey the Constitution. "It's a matter of individual freedom of choice", said ACLU President Nadine Strossen in an interview. "Does that mean they should do it? Not necessarily, not any more than somebody should smoke or drink or eat McDonald's hamburgers." U.S. attitudes toward legalization and decriminalization started dramatically liberalizing in the 1990s, and a 2018 study in Social Science Research found that the main drivers of these changes in attitudes were a decline in the perception of the riskiness of marijuana, changes in media framing of marijuana, a decline in overall punitiveness, and a decrease in religious affiliation. Additionally, a Gallup poll conducted in 2022 found that 53% of… The act also provided a model for state governments to follow, and by 1973 only two states still classified simple possession of cannabis as a felony. === Shafer Commission (1972) === An additional requirement of the Controlled Substances Act was the establishment of a federal commission (formally titled the National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse) to study the effects of cannabis use. President Nixon appointed nine of the commission's 13 members, including former Pennsylvania governor Raymond P. Shafer who was designated to serve as chairman. Although it was defeated by a wide margin, supporters of the initiative were encouraged by the results, which provided momentum to other reform efforts in California throughout the decade. In 1973 Oregon became the first state to decriminalize cannabis, reducing the penalty for up to one ounce to a $100 fine. Other states were reluctant to follow, however, in part due to influence from the Nixon administration which staunchly opposed such reforms. Decriminalization efforts were bolstered by Nixon's resignation in August 1974, however, ushering in the Ford administration and a more tolerant view toward cannabis from the White House. In addition, many patients that associated with chronic pain, multiple sclerosis were also under marijuana oral preparation treatment. Patients treated with dronabinol, a synthetic THC, reported that there was a 50% pain reduction compared to 30% that was experienced when given the placebo. Furthermore, cancer treatment involving chemotherapy also agreed that dronabinol had significant benefits on delaying nausea and vomiting for In 2006, a study by the University of California, Los Angeles found California has saved $2.50 for every dollar invested into Proposition 36, which decriminalized cannabis and other drug possession charges by allowing outpatient treatment programs instead of incarceration. In the first year, the proposition was enacted (2001), California reportedly saved $173 million, which is likely a result of fewer drug offenders in prison. In the five years after the program was enacted, 8,700 fewer people are in prison for drug offenses. In 2006, the Karolinska Institute in Sweden used twelve rats to examine how adolescent use of cannabis affects subsequent use of other illicit drugs. The study gave six of the twelve "teenage" rats a small dose of THC, reportedly equivalent to one joint smoked by a human, every three days. The rats were allowed to administer heroin by pushing a lever and the study found the rats given THC took larger doses of heroin. The institute examined the brain cells in the rats and found THC alters the opioid system that is associated with positive emotions, which lessens the effects of opiates on rat's brain and thus causes them to use more heroin. Paul Armentano, policy analyst for NORML, claimed because the rats were given THC at the young age of 28 days, it is impossible to extrapolate the results of this study to humans. In December 2006, a 12-year gateway drug hypothesis study on 214 boys from ages 10–12 by the American Psychiatric Association was published in the American Journal of Psychiatry. The study concluded adolescents who used cannabis prior to using other drugs, including alcohol and tobacco, were no more likely to develop a substance use disorder than subjects in the study who did not use cannabis prior to using other drugs. Following decriminalization, Alaska youth had lower rates of daily use of cannabis than their peers in the rest of the US. In 1972, President Richard Nixon commissioned the National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse to produce an in-depth report on cannabis. The report, entitled "Marijuana: A Signal of Misunderstanding", reviewed existing cannabis studies and concluded that cannabis does not cause physical addiction. In 1997, the Connecticut Law Revision Commission recommended Connecticut reduce cannabis possession of one ounce or less for adults age 21 and over to a civil fine. In 2001, the New Mexico state-commissioned Drug Policy Advisory Group stated that decriminalizing cannabis "will result in greater availability of resources to respond to more serious crimes without any increased risks to public safety." A few places in California had been advocating cannabis decriminalization.