The number of federal sentences for low-level marijuana possession has plummeted in recent years, thanks mainly to a dramatic drop in prosecutions of people arrested in Arizona. But prior state convictions for simple possession are still boosting federal penalties for other offenses by increasing the number of "criminal history points" considered under sentencing guidelines.
Under federal law, simple marijuana possession is punishable by a minimum fine of $1,000 and up to a year in jail. Federal charges have always accounted for a tiny share of marijuana possession cases, which typically are prosecuted under state law. But according to a recent report from the U.S. Sentencing Commission (USSC), federal courts sentenced just 145 defendants for simple marijuana possession in fiscal year 2021, down from 2,172 in FY 2014.
