The publication of data showing severe racial disparities in marijuana enforcement, with black people being several times more likely to be arrested for marijuana use than white people, despite comparable rates of use, also made it increasingly difficult to defend prohibition.
Legalization has received a further boost simply from the fact that it is working. Opponents' worst fears have not materialized: Neither youth marijuana use nor the DUI rate has increased in states that legalized, according to our research. Instead, in states where data are available, arrests are dropping, states are enjoying cost savings while filling their coffers with marijuana revenue, and regulators are putting in place strict measures to protect health and safety in a legal marijuana market.
As the Michigan vote indicates, the question is no longer whether to legalize cannabis: It is how to do it in a manner that repairs the many harms from decades of prohibition.