{"id":46427,"date":"2022-02-15T18:14:54","date_gmt":"2022-02-15T23:14:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.aclu.org\/issues\/drug-law-reform"},"modified":"2025-06-17T15:00:29","modified_gmt":"2025-06-17T19:00:29","slug":"drug-law-reform","status":"publish","type":"issue","link":"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/issues\/criminal-law-reform\/drug-law-reform","title":{"rendered":"Drug Law Reform"},"parent":46391,"menu_order":3,"template":"","class_list":["post-46427","issue","type-issue","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":{"featured-image":210625,"intro":"The ACLU works in courts, legislatures, and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties that the Constitution and the laws of the United States guarantee everyone in this country.","what-you-need-to-know":null,"promo":{"description":"","button":"","url":""},"faq":{"description":"","faq-items":null},"featured-stories":null,"latest-stories":null,"whats-at-stake":{"title":"What's at Stake","description":"Drug laws should reflect the collective will of the populace. Jail time for simple marijuana possession is common in certain jurisdictions, even though 9 out of 10 adults believe people who possess or use small amounts of marijuana should not face any jail time.\r\n\r\nEven for individuals who are never incarcerated, collateral consequences that flow from their arrests and convictions\u2014such as lost jobs, ineligibility for public housing, suspended driver\u2019s licenses, and restrictions on access to federal student loans\u2014can significantly derail their lives. A \u201ccriminal history\u201d built on minor marijuana convictions can categorize defendants as \u201ccareer criminals\u201d for sentencing purposes in subsequent cases, thereby triggering harsh mandatory sentences.\r\n\r\nCLRP has fought to implement and protect medical marijuana and decriminalization laws in jurisdictions around the country, helping thousands of people obtain the medicine they need and keeping people who pose no danger to public safety out of the criminal justice system. We also support states\u2019 efforts to tax and regulate marijuana, as in Colorado and Washington. The criminal justice system lags far behind public opinion on marijuana reform, and CLRP is helping it catch up."},"actions":"","drupal-id":439,"is_hidden_issue":""},"yoast_head":"\nAmerican Civil Liberties Union<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The ACLU works in courts, legislatures, and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties that the Constitution and the laws of the United States guarantee everyone in this country.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Drug Law Reform | American Civil Liberties Union\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The ACLU works in courts, legislatures, and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties that the Constitution and the laws of the United States guarantee everyone in this country.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/issues\/criminal-law-reform\/drug-law-reform\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"American Civil Liberties Union\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-06-17T19:00:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@aclu\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/issues\/criminal-law-reform\/drug-law-reform\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/issues\/criminal-law-reform\/drug-law-reform\",\"name\":\"Drug Law Reform | American Civil Liberties Union\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2022-02-15T23:14:54+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-17T19:00:29+00:00\",\"description\":\"The ACLU works in courts, legislatures, and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties that the Constitution and the laws of the United States guarantee everyone in this country.\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/issues\/criminal-law-reform\/drug-law-reform\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/\",\"name\":\"American Civil Liberties Union\",\"description\":\"The ACLU dares to create a more perfect union \u2014 beyond one person, party, or side. Our mission is to realize this promise of the United States Constitution for all and expand the reach of its guarantees.\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"American Civil Liberties Union","description":"The ACLU works in courts, legislatures, and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties that the Constitution and the laws of the United States guarantee everyone in this country.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Drug Law Reform | American Civil Liberties Union","og_description":"The ACLU works in courts, legislatures, and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties that the Constitution and the laws of the United States guarantee everyone in this country.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/issues\/criminal-law-reform\/drug-law-reform","og_site_name":"American Civil Liberties Union","article_modified_time":"2025-06-17T19:00:29+00:00","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@aclu","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/issues\/criminal-law-reform\/drug-law-reform","url":"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/issues\/criminal-law-reform\/drug-law-reform","name":"Drug Law Reform | American Civil Liberties Union","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/#website"},"datePublished":"2022-02-15T23:14:54+00:00","dateModified":"2025-06-17T19:00:29+00:00","description":"The ACLU works in courts, legislatures, and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties that the Constitution and the laws of the United States guarantee everyone in this country.","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/issues\/criminal-law-reform\/drug-law-reform"]}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/","name":"American Civil Liberties Union","description":"The ACLU dares to create a more perfect union \u2014 beyond one person, party, or side. 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