Oregon becomes the first U.S. state to decriminalize marijuana possession

On October 5, 1973, Oregon became the first state in the nation to decriminalize personal possession of cannabis. Passed by the Oregon Legislative Assembly and signed by Republican Governor Tom McCall earlier that summer, the law reclassified possession of up to one ounce (28.35 grams) of marijuana from a criminal offense to a civil violation carrying a maximum $100 fine—similar to a traffic ticket.

How the 1973 law changed enforcement

Before 1973, possessing even a small amount of cannabis in most states could result in arrest, jail time, and a permanent criminal record. Following the 1972 recommendations of the federal Shafer Commission, a bipartisan group of Oregon lawmakers argued that criminalizing adults for small amounts of cannabis wasted police and court resources while ruining young people’s employment prospects.

• Possession limit: Up to 1 ounce of cannabis became a non-criminal violation with no arrest record or jail sentence.
• Maximum fine: Up to $100.
• Still illegal: Selling, cultivating, or possessing more than one ounce remained criminal offenses under Oregon law.

A wave of 1970s state decriminalization

Oregon’s move sparked a decade of similar reforms across the country. Between 1975 and 1978, ten additional states reduced small-scale cannabis possession penalties to civil fines or non-jail misdemeanors, including Alaska, Maine, Colorado, California, and Ohio in 1975; Minnesota in 1976; Mississippi, New York, and North Carolina in 1977; and Nebraska in 1978. In 1975, the Alaska Supreme Court also issued its landmark Ravin v. State decision, ruling that the state constitution’s privacy clause protected adults possessing small amounts of cannabis inside their homes.