The crack in the global consensus around the prohibitionist approach is widening. A growing number of countries in Europe and Latin America are moving away from a purely repressive model.

International conventions still limit governments leeway, and the US government remains opposed to any backtracking from the punitive, prohibitionist strategy that it has pursued since 1981. Even the boldest Latin American governments including those in Colombia, Uruguay, and Guatemala are reluctant to advance much further, especially if they remain isolated.

There is a growing body of evidence suggesting that the harm it causes is at worst similar to the harm caused by alcohol or tobacco. Moreover, most of the damage associated with marijuana use from the indiscriminate incarceration of consumers to the violence and corruption associated with the drug trade is the result of current prohibitionist policies.