If you're looking for the latest, best information available on the issue of marijuana use, a 30-year old report isn't your best choice. And, being the report of a Government commission, it's certainly not Shakespeare-quality literature. But with all that in mind, this is a surprisingly balanced, thoughtful, and readable examination of the issue, and I believe it's still relevant today.
Most importantly, this report shows that today's drug policies were never the only approach available, and that even 30 years ago, educated observers understood that U.S. drug policies were out of balance. There are two overarching themes in the report: first, marijuana use was not an especially serious problem, and deserved far less attention than it was getting. Society had more important things to worry about. Second, to the extent that marijuana use was a problem, society was relying too much on the blunt force instrument of criminal law as a solution, with little success and numerous negative side effects.
It's interesting to read through the Commissioners' recommendations and the reasoning behind them, and then look at how history has played out since then. Overall the Commissioners have been vindicated; their proposals weren't implemented to any significant degree, and the policy approach that was failing in their day is still failing today. A few bits are funny in hindsight, though: the Commission actually hoped that, with time, the American public might grow bored with marijuana and it would disappear on its own. No such luck, eh?
