One chapter considers the effects of marijuana on the individual user, with attention to the size of the user population for whom various effects are relevant. Another chapter assesses the various threats that marijuana use is perceived to pose to the public safety, public health, and dominant social order. This is followed by a chapter that discusses the role marijuana use plays and will play in American society. After analyzing public opinion, law enforcement behavior, and the reactions of medical, educational, and other segments of the population, the chapter discusses what marijuana use has come to mean and is likely to mean in the future. The concluding chapter establishes the philosophical framework and explores the spectrum of social policy options regarding marijuana; the National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse then chooses the policy it deems must appropriate at the present time. The Commission recommends a social control policy that seeks to discourage marijuana use while focusing on the prevention of heavy use. The total prohibition scheme is rejected, as is a regulatory or legalization scheme. The rationale for and the features of a partial prohibition scheme are presented, and implications are drawn for Federal and State law and policy regarding marijuana. 11 tables and an index of contributors, contractors, and consultants