Pot Possession Cases Have Plummeted in Federal Courts, but Prior Marijuana Convictions Still Boost Penalties

The number of federal sentences for simple marijuana possession has declined dramatically in recent years, from 2,172 in fiscal year 2014 to just 145 in FY 2021, according to a new report from the U.S. Sentencing Commission (USSC). But prior state convictions for simple possession are still boosting federal penalties by increasing the number of “criminal history points” considered under sentencing guidelines, which resulted in higher recommended ranges for 1,765 defendants in FY 2021.

The USSC report confirms the minimal impact of the mass pardon for low-level marijuana offenders that President Joe Biden announced in October. It shows that federal charges represent a tiny share of simple possession cases. While 2,172 federal defendants received sentences for simple marijuana possession in FY 2014, for example, nearly 620,000 people were arrested for marijuana possession in the United States that calendar year. Among all federal defendants sentenced in FY 2021, state cases accounted for 97 percent of prior marijuana possession convictions.

Even in the context of federal cases, Biden’s pardon did not free a single prisoner. “As of January 2022,” the USSC notes, “no offenders sentenced solely for simple possession of marijuana remained in the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons.”

People caught with marijuana at or near the U.S.-Mexican border account for most federal simple possession cases. “The overall trends were largely driven by one district, the District of Arizona, which accounted for nearly 80 percent (78.9%) of all federal marijuana possession sentencings since 2014,” the USSC reports. Cases from Arizona plummeted between FY 2014 and FY 2021, from 1,916 to just two.

Marijuana possession defendants were overwhelmingly male (86 percent) and Hispanic (71 percent), and 60 percent were not U.S. citizens. Seventy percent received prison sentences, which averaged five months. The maximum federal penalty for simple marijuana possession is a $1,000 fine and one year in pri