title: Nonconformist (Protestantism)

text: Since 1660, Dissenters, later Nonconformists, have played a major role in English politics. In a political context, historians distinguish between two categories of Dissenters, in addition to the evangelical element in the Church of England. "Old Dissenters", dating from the 16th and 17th centuries, included Baptists, Congregationalists, Quakers, Unitarians, and Presbyterians outside Scotland. "New Dissenters" emerged in the 18th century and were mainly Methodists. The "Nonconformist conscience" was their moral sensibility which they tried to implement in British politics. The "Nonconformist conscience" of the Old group emphasized religious freedom and equality, pursuit of justice, and opposition to discrimination, compulsion, and coercion. The New Dissenters (and also the Anglican evangelicals) stressed personal morality issues, including sexuality, family values, and temperance. Both factions were politically active, but until mid-19th century the Old group supported mostly Whigs and Liberals in politics, while the New, like most Anglicans, generally supported Conservatives. By the late 19th century, the New Dissenters had mostly switched to the Liberal Party. The result was a merging of the two groups, strengthening their great weight as a political pressure group.


title: Nonconformist (Protestantism)

text: After the Test and Corporation Acts were repealed in 1828, all the Nonconformists elected to Parliament were Liberals. Relatively few MPs were Dissenters. However the Dissenters were major voting bloc in many areas, such as East Midlands. They were very well organized and highly motivated and largely won over the Whigs and Liberals to their cause. Gladstone brought the majority of Dissenters around to support for Home Rule for Ireland, putting the dissenting Protestants in league with the Irish Catholics in an otherwise unlikely alliance. The Nonconformist conscience was also repeatedly called upon by Gladstone for support for his moralistic foreign policy. In election after election, Protestant ministers rallied their congregations to the Liberal ticket. (In Scotland, the Presbyterians played a similar role to the Nonconformist Methodists, Baptists and other groups in England and Wales.) Many of the first MPs elected for the Labour Party in the 1900s were also nonconformists.


title: Nonconformist (Protestantism)

text: Nonconformists were angered by the Education Act 1902, which provided for the support of denominational schools from taxes. The elected local school boards that they largely controlled were abolished and replaced by county-level local education authorities that were usually controlled by Anglicans. Worst of all the hated Anglican schools would now receive funding from local taxes that everyone had to pay. One tactic was to refuse to pay local taxes. John Clifford formed the National Passive Resistance Committee. By 1904 over 37,000 summonses for unpaid school taxes were issued, with thousands having their property seized and 80 protesters going to prison. It operated for another decade but had no impact on the school system. The education issue played a major role in the Liberal victory in the 1906 general election, as Dissenter Conservatives punished their old party and voted Liberal. After 1906, a Liberal attempt to modify the law was blocked by the Conservative-dominated House of Lords; after 1911 when the Lords had been stripped of its veto over legislation, the issue was no longer of high enough priority to produce Liberal action.


title: Nonconformist (Protestantism)

text: By 1914 the linkage between the Nonconformists and Liberal Party was weakening, as secularization reduced the strength of Dissent in English political life.


title: Nonconformist (Protestantism)

text: Today, Protestant churches independent of the Anglican Church of England or the Presbyterian Church of Scotland are often called "free churches", meaning they are "free" from state control. This term is used interchangeably with "Nonconformist".


title: Nonconformist (Protestantism)

text: The steady pace of secularization picked up faster and faster during the 20th century, until only pockets of nonconformist religiosity remained in England.


title: Nonconformist (Protestantism)

text: Nonconformity in Wales can be traced to the Welsh Methodist revival; Wales effectively had become a Nonconformist country by the mid-19th century; nonconformist chapel attendance significantly outnumbered Anglican church attendance. They were based in the fast-growing upwardly mobile urban middle class.


title: Nonconformist (Protestantism)

text: The influence of Nonconformism in the early part of the 20th century, boosted by the 1904–1905 Welsh Revival, led to the disestablishment of the Anglican Church in Wales in 1920 and the formation of the Church in Wales.


title: Nonconformist (Protestantism)

text: In other countries, the term Nonconformist is used in a broader sense to refer to Christians who are not communicants of a majority national church, such as the Lutheran Church of Sweden. The largest Nonconformist church in Sweden, the Uniting Church in Sweden was formed out of the union of Baptist Union of Sweden, United Methodist Church and Mission Covenant Church of Sweden.


title: Batman, Turkey

text: Batman () is a Kurdish-majority city in the Southeastern Anatolia Region of Turkey and the capital of Batman Province. It lies on a plateau, above sea level, near the confluence of the Batman River and the Tigris. The Batı Raman oil field, which is the largest oil field in Turkey, is located just outside the city. Batman has a local airport and a military airbase, which was used for transit of aircraft and helicopters in some search and rescue operations during the Gulf War.


title: Batman, Turkey

text: Until the 1950s, Batman was a village, with a population of about 3,000. However, oil fields were discovered around it in the 1940s that resulted in a rapid development of the area and in the inflow of workforce from other parts of Turkey. In 1957, the village was renamed Batman, after the river namesake, received a city status and became a district center. Over the next 50 years, a significant amount of Batman's one-story buildings were rebuilt as multi-story buildings. As a result, its population grew to many times its previous size. A km long oil pipeline was built in 1967 from Batman to the port city of Dörtyol near the easternmost point of the Mediterranean coast in order to transport the crude oil from the Batman refinery. In 1990, the city became the capital of Batman Province.


title: Batman, Turkey

text: Apart from oil, which is by far the dominant commodity of the region, Batman produces beverages, processed food, chemicals, furniture, footwear, machinery and transport equipment. A university was established in 2007, Batman University, and is part of the Erasmus foreign student exchange program.


title: Batman, Turkey

text: The Batman Province contains the strategic Tigris River with fertile lands by its sides, as well as rocky hills with numerous caves providing a natural shelter. As a result, it was inhabited from prehistoric times, likely from the Neolithic (Paleolithic) period, according to archeological evidence. First documented evidence of settlements in the province dates back to the 7th century BC. An artificial "island" was created in this marshy area, which was named "elekhan" and stood independent for 194 years from 546 BC until the invasion of Alexander the Great in 352 BC. The Batman Province was a religious center in the 4th–6th centuries AD and was part of the Byzantine Empire for seven centuries. In the 11th–12th centuries became under the control of the Great Seljuq Empire and Artuqids and became a prominent outpost of the Silk Road. This area was populated by Syriac Christians and had a significant presence of Pontic Greeks, Assyrians, Baghdadi Jews and Armenians; these peoples lived in the region from 500 BC to the late 19th century. Significant changes in its management and language were brought in 1515 by Mahmoud Pasha Elekhani. It is believed that a variant of his name, "Elah", was transformed into "Iluh" and gave the old name to the Batman city.


title: Batman, Turkey

text: The locality was made the capital of a district in the Siirt Province in 1957 and as the Batman province was founded in May 1990, also its capital. The city was connected with Istanbul in 1944 by a railway line. This was the major transportation route until the 1950s when highways gradually became more important. Until the 1950s, Batman was a village of some 3,000 people; it was called Iluh and belonged to the Siirt Province. It was first located in the Elmedin district of Siirt. The entire district disappeared in the early 1926 due to the flood of the Batman River. After that, Iluh became part of Beşiri sub-province. On 2 September 1957, the village became a district center and renamed Batman after the river flowing nearby, which was known under its modern name since at least the 19th century. On 16 May 1990 it was designated the capital of the Batman Province.


title: Batman, Turkey

text: This administrative evolution reflected the rapid growth of the city owing to its oil extraction and refinement industries. Oil was found in the region in the 1930s and the oldest in Turkey refinery was built in 1955 to process crude oil of the Raman and Garzan areas. The refinery is operated by Tüpraş, it has a processing capacity of 1.1 million tonnes per year and storage capacity of 253 billion m.


title: Batman, Turkey

text: Development of the oil fields outside the city resulted in a rapid growth of Batman beginning in the 1950s. As a result, the city was declared a "Priority Region for Development". A high school was established in the city in 1975 and most one-story houses were rebuilt into multi-story buildings. However, the large inflow of labor for the oil industry resulted in construction of hundreds of unauthorized small buildings on the outskirts of the city. Because of the wind direction, most industrial complexes were located in the southern and south-eastern areas.


title: Batman, Turkey

text: The oil-related development of Batman also resulted in relocation of Turkish people into a mostly Kurd-populated Batman Province. This has brought ethnic conflicts that escalated in the 1990s. More than 180 civilians were killed in the Batman city area by unidentified gunmen between 1992 and 1993. In June 2000, the then-Mayor Abdullah Akın attempted to rename up to 200 streets, and give them names of events of the Kurdish history or of people who supported the Kurdish culture. A Turkish court did not allow some names, but other names passed. In 2010 the city was the location for the first Kurdish film festival in Turkey. In the opening ceremony a letter of the imprisoned mayor Nejdet Atalay was read out in the Kurdish language highlighting the struggles the Kurds have to go through in Turkey that does not recognize the Kurdish language.


title: Batman, Turkey

text: In the local elections in December 1977, a candidate who openly supported Kurdish rights, Edip Sönmez, won the elections. He was murdered in 1979. The Kurdish Mayors Abdullah Akın (1999–2002), Hüseyin Kalkan (2002–2009) and Nejdet Atalay have all faced prosecutions and were in prison. The former mayor of Batman Nejdet Atalay, was a member of the Democratic Society Party (DTP) until the Constitutional Court of Turkey banned that party on 11 December 2009 for alleged ties to the Kurdistan Workers' Party. This decision banned him and 35 other members of the now-disbanded political party from joining any political party for five years. In 2014 Sabri Özdemir won the elections. But he was suspended as mayor in October 2015 for "Self governance" remarks and later dismissed.


title: Batman, Turkey

text: In the local elections of March 2019, Mehmet Demir was elected Mayor of Batman, but on 23 February 2020, he was dismissed and a trustee was appointed. Kaymakam is Osman Bilici.


title: Batman, Turkey

text: According to the national census data collected between 1990 and 2000, the population of Batman is growing at a rate of 5% per year. By 2008, it reached a population of 298,342, with a male to female ratio of 1.015. According to the 2000 census, about 50% of population is married and has about 5 children per family. About 5 people are living together in one house as family. The unemployment rate is about 20% for males and 10% for females. Kurdish is the main first-language in the city.


title: Batman, Turkey

text: Batman's primary commodity is oil, as there are multiple oil fields in the nearby area. These oil fields have spurred the creation of multiple pipelines to transmit oil to and from several important cities. Apart from oil, which is by far the dominant commodity of the region, Batman produces beverages, processed food, chemicals, furniture, footwear, machinery and transport equipment.


title: Batman, Turkey

text: Search for oil in the Batman Province started in 1935. On 20 April 1940, oil was found at a depth of at the Raman oil field, located south-east of Batman. The first experimental well began producing 10 tonnes (about ) of oil per day on 6 June 1940. The field was set to be expanded for commercial production by 1945, but the production was delayed to 1947 due to the lack of storage. To solve this, a small refinery was built at the site with a capacity of 9 tonnes/day in 1947, and in November 1948 a bigger refinery capable of processing up to 200 tonnes/day was completed in Batman. An even bigger refinery (330 tonnes/d) was completed in Batman in 1955. Several other oil fields were discovered later around Batman, the largest being Batı Raman oil field, which produces about of oil daily.


title: Batman, Turkey

text: A km long oil pipeline was built in 1967 from Batman to Dörtyol, a port city located near the easternmost point of the Mediterranean coast, to transport the crude oil from the Batman region. The pipeline has an annual capacity of 3.5 million tonnes and was transporting about (about 2.7 million tonnes) in the 1990s and about twice less between 2003 and 2007. Another, short pipeline long connected Batman with Şelmo, which is the location of the second largest oil field in Turkey. It transferred between 1.5 and of oil per year between the years of 1990 and 2007. Both pipelines are operated by BOTAŞ.


title: Batman, Turkey

text: According to the census of 2000, 15% males and 43% females of Batman were categorized as illiterate. Within the literate part, about 33% males and 29% females have not finished secondary school, 3.3% males and 0.9% females had university education, and about 13% males and 3.8% females had completed a high-school or an equivalent program. There are 71 elementary and 12 high schools in Batman.


title: Batman, Turkey

text: The city also has a university, Batman University, which was founded on 27 May 2007. It employs about 140 staff members and has the faculties of Science and Letters, Technical Education, and Engineering, which mostly cover topics about engineering, business, and administration. About 2,500 students, who come from different parts of Turkey, study at the university. The university is part of the Erasmus foreign student exchange program.


title: Batman, Turkey

text: Association football is the most popular sport in Batman. The city has a professional football club, Batman Petrolspor, which was formed in 1960 and plays in the third division TFF Third League. The club was named after the petroleum industry of the city. Another local football team, 72 Batmanspor, participates in the Amateur League. There is a football stadium in Batman, which has a seating capacity of 4,900 spectators.


title: Batman, Turkey

text: Another popular sport is wrestling. Freestyle wrestlers from Batman have won national competitions, and Ali Riza Alan won gold in 1970 and silver in 1974 in world championships in the weight category under . The major sport venue of Batman, Atatürk Sports Hall, can accommodate 1,000 spectators and supports many athletics, such as badminton, basketball, gymnastics, wrestling, folk dance, handball, martial arts (such as kurash, judo, aikido, wushu, karate and taekwondo), table tennis, volleyball and swimming.


title: Batman, Turkey

text: Batman is connected by highways and railway with the nearby cities of Diyarbakır and Kurtalan and with the capital Ankara. The distance (using highways) to Istanbul is , to Ankara , and to İzmir . There is also a regional airport outside of Batman at , which provides direct flights to İzmir, Ankara and Istanbul. The airport is combined with the military Batman Air Base. The base was renovated after the US-Turkey agreement in 1982 to make the base available for US tactical aircraft acting within NATO forces. This allowed them to patrol the region of Caucasus, Turkey and Iran without refueling. The base was then used for aid delivery and rescue missions in Iraq during the 1991 Gulf War.


title: Batman, Turkey

text: Batman is built on a flat plateau elevated at above the sea level, though there is a declining slope of up to 0.6° in the northeastern and southern areas. There are almost no forests in and around the city. The Iluh River, a tributary of the Batman River, flows through the city. The soil mostly consists of soft and porous clay; it is unstable and is easily eroded with rain and floods of the Batman and Iluh rivers. The floods usually occur between March and May, although they sometimes occur between October and November. Major floods occurred in 1969 (April, 60 buildings damaged), 1972 (April and May, 210 buildings damaged), 1991 (November, 500 buildings flooded), 1995 (March, nearly 1000 buildings submerged and 450 damaged) and 2006 (October, 11 people died and 20 injured).


title: Batman, Turkey

text: Batman has a hot summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen: "Csa", Trewartha: "Cs"). Summers in the city are, on average, one of the hottest in the nation, averaging in July. Rainfall is almost non-existent during the summer months, with many summer months passing by without measurable precipitation. Winters are cool and wet with frosty nights. Snowfall is sporadic between the months of December and March, snowing for a week or two, with a record snow depth of .


title: Helly Hansen

text: Helly Hansen (HH) is a Norwegian manufacturer and retailer of clothing and sports equipment and a subsidiary of the Canadian retail chain Canadian Tire. Currently headquartered in Oslo, it was previously headquartered in Moss, Norway from its founding in 1877 until October 2009.


title: Helly Hansen

text: Helly Juell Hansen had been at sea since the age of 14 and in 1877, at the age of 35, he and his wife Maren Margarethe produced their first oilskin jackets, trousers, sou'westers and tarpaulins, made from coarse linen soaked in linseed oil. Over the first five years they sold around 10,000 pieces.


title: Helly Hansen

text: In 1878 the company won a diploma for excellence at the Paris Expo, and began exporting its products.


title: Helly Hansen

text: After Helly Juell Hansen's death in 1914, company leadership passed on to his son Leiv Helly-Hansen, an experienced merchant.


title: Helly Hansen

text: In the 1920s a new fabric, which Helly-Hansen called Linox, was developed. Over the next 30 years the name Linox would transfer to a PVC (polyvinyl chloride) application.


title: Helly Hansen

text: A change for the brand came in 1949 when Helox was developed. The sheet of translucent PVC plastic sewn into waterproof coats and hats became a popular item. About 30,000 Helox coats were produced each month. Plarex, a heavier-duty version of Helox, backed by fabric, was developed for workwear.


title: Helly Hansen

text: Fibrepile, which is an insulation layer for wearing under waterproofs, was developed for the outdoor and workwear markets. It was used by Swedish lumbermen, who discovered that it offered insulation against the cold, and ventilated well during hard, physical work in the forest.


title: Helly Hansen

text: The layering story was completed in the 1970s, with the development of LIFA. The polypropylene fibre used in LIFA kept the skin dry and warm by pushing moisture away from the body, making it the ideal base-layer fabric for outdoor and workwear use. It was the birth of the three-layer systems of dress with LIFA close to the body, Fibrepile as an insulation layer, and rainwear for protection.


title: Helly Hansen

text: During the 1970s the company developed survival suits for offshore oil workers in the North Sea. In 1980 the company's breathable, waterproof fabric system, called Helly Tech, was launched. Helly Tech garments use both hydrophilic and microporous technology. Hydrophilic garments have water-loving molecular chains which pass water vapor to the outside. Microporous garments have tiny pores that allow water vapor to pass out of the fabric without letting rain droplets in.


title: Helly Hansen

text: Helly Hansen clothing developed a following among urban youth in the late 1990s, particularly in North England and with the hip hop culture in the US. The brand developed a mass appeal and is now sold in sports shops, not only the hiking and specialized clothing shops of before.


title: Helly Hansen

text: In 2008 they launched Odin, a 3-Layer materialization system made for mountaineers. The Odin collection won the Red Dot Design Award the same year.


title: Helly Hansen

text: In 2012, Helly Hansen introduced their H2 Flow Technology with the H2 Flow Jacket. The H2 Flow Jacket allows the wearer to regulate their body temperature.


title: Helly Hansen

text: By 1995, the company was owned by Norwegian conglomerate Orkla. That year, Orkla sold a 50% stake in Helly Hansen to Resource Group International, which merged with Aker in 1996.


title: Helly Hansen

text: In 1997, Investcorp bought Aker's stake and most of Orkla's stake, giving it 70% ownership. The company was valued at $160 million.


title: Helly Hansen

text: In October 2006, Investcorp sold its interest in Helly Hansen to Altor Equity Partners, ""a private equity firm focusing on investments in companies based in the Nordic region.""


title: Helly Hansen

text: In 2015 the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan increased its position, acquiring Altor's remaining stock in the business.


title: Helly Hansen

text: In February 2011, a three-year partnership was announced with guiding company Mountain Madness to outfit all Mountain Madness operations guides "with technical apparel from head to toe" beginning the 2011 season and extending through 2013.


title: Helly Hansen

text: In November 2012, Helly Hansen partnered with the US Ski and Snowboard Association to be their official baselayer provider. The US Alpine Ski Team wore Helly Hansen baselayer while competing in Sochi.


title: Die Lit

text: Die Lit is the debut studio album by American rapper Playboi Carti. It was released on May 11, 2018, by AWGE Label and Interscope Records. The album features guest appearances from Skepta, Travis Scott, Lil Uzi Vert, Pi'erre Bourne, Nicki Minaj, Bryson Tiller, Chief Keef, Gunna, Red Coldhearted, Young Thug, and Young Nudy. The production on the album was mainly handled by Pi'erre Bourne, with assistance from Don Cannon and IndigoChildRick, among others.


title: Die Lit

text: "Die Lit" received generally positive reviews from critics and debuted at number three on the US "Billboard" 200.


title: Die Lit

text: In December 2017, a video showed Playboi Carti behind a mixing board, presumably listening to new material with the caption "Album Mode". In March 2018, Pi'erre Bourne teased that the project had been finalized via Twitter. On May 10, 2018, Carti announced the album's release date via Twitter. On the same day, ASAP Rocky revealed the album's artwork. Upon release, the album was briefly released exclusively via Tidal, before showing up on other streaming services.


title: Die Lit

text: "Die Lit" was met with generally positive reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 71, based on seven reviews.


title: Die Lit

text: Evan Rytlewski of "Pitchfork" stated that "Die Lit" is "an album that works almost completely from its own lunatic script. It is a perversely infectious sugar high, rap that fundamentally recalibrates the brain's reward centers", praising the production and simplicity. Corrigan B of "Tiny Mix Tapes" said, "Like its predecessor, it's an album of party records; these are songs that will be played ad infinitum at functions until the hooks, the breaks, and, of course, the bass are burned into the brain of every attendee". Maxwell Cavaseno of "HotNewHipHop" concluded that "Die Lit" "feels like the closest to a fully realized album as Carti is ever going to come close to achieving" and that it "should, at the very least, be respected for doing so much while doing so very little". Online publication Sputnikmusic stated: "A lot of the gratification of this record is in the production, which takes the age-old hip-hop trick of taking a fractional melodic idea, barely a song by itself, and spinning out of it a thick sonic weave."


title: Die Lit

text: A. Harmony from "Exclaim!" criticized the album for having a lack of variety, saying "It's fun enough but, save for a few keepers, has the lifespan of a mayfly. Rock to it for the summer and forget most of it by September". Riley Wallace of "HipHopDX" stated, "Through a more respectable body of work—is unlikely to win over any naysayers". Neil Z. Yeung of AllMusic said, "Like Rae Sremmurd and Migos, these big-bass trap anthems owe much to their club-friendly vibe, but offer little in terms of substance or lasting impact".


title: Die Lit

text: "Die Lit" debuted at number three on the US "Billboard" 200 chart, earning 61,000 album-equivalent units (including 5,000 copies as pure album sales) in its first week. On July 31, 2019, the album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for combined sales and streams in excess of 500,000 units in the United States. As of January 2021, the album has earned 1.1 million album-equivalent units and net 1.67 billion on-demand streams for its tracks.


title: Govindudu Andarivadele

text: Govindudu Andarivadele (), also known by the acronym GAV, is a 2014 Indian Telugu-language action drama film written and directed by Krishna Vamsi. Produced by Bandla Ganesh for Parameswara Art Productions, the film stars Ram Charan and Kajal Aggarwal while Srikanth, Kamalinee Mukherjee, Prakash Raj, Jayasudha, Rahman, and Adarsh Balakrishna play supporting roles. Yuvan Shankar Raja composed the film's soundtrack and score while Sameer Reddy worked as the cinematographer, and Naveen Nooli was the film's editor.


title: Govindudu Andarivadele

text: The film is partially inspired by the 1991 Telugu film "Seetharamayya Gari Manavaralu" directed by Kranthi Kumar. "Govindudu Andarivadele" portrays a "non-resident Indian" named Abhiram who visits his grandfather Balaraju's house as a student of agriculture. He actually came to reconcile the differences between his father, Chandrasekhar Rao, and Balaraju. The pair parted ways as Chadrasekhar went to the UK while Balaraju stayed and built a charitable hospital for local people. Abhiram succeeds in winning over family members, and Balaraju understands the truth behind Abhiram and his attempts.


title: Govindudu Andarivadele

text: The film was officially announced in Hyderabad on 6 February 2014. Principal photography commenced from the same day and ended on 22 September 2014. A large portion of the film was shot in Hyderabad, Rameswaram, Nagercoil, Konaseema, Kanyakumari, Pollachi and Karaikudi in India while significant portions were shot in London and Jordan. The film was released worldwide on 1 October 2014 to generally positive feedback from critics. The film became one of the highest-grossing Telugu films of 2014. It was dubbed into Hindi, Malayalam and Tamil as "Yevadu 2", "Ekalavya" and "Ram Leela" respectively.


title: Govindudu Andarivadele

text: Balaraju, the head of his village, lives with his wife Baby, his two sons; Chandrasekhar Rao and Bangari, and his two daughters. He helps Chandrasekhar become a doctor and builds a local hospital. On the day it opens, Chandrasekhar comes back home with his lover Kausalya, also a doctor. Both express their wish to marry and settle abroad, which upsets Balaraju, leading to their separation.


title: Govindudu Andarivadele

text: 25 years later, Chandrasekhar, a successful doctor in London, tells the story to his son Abhiram and daughter Indu. Abhiram decides to go home to Balaraju and attempt a reconciliation. He meets his friend, Bunny, at the airport and goes to the village on Bunny's bike the next day. On the way, he witnesses a cockfight organised by Bangari and Baachi; he gets the help of Balaraju to pardon Bangari and get Baachi arrested. Abhiram then introduces himself as a student from London who came here to learn agricultural practices and martial arts. He particularly impresses Balaraju's family when he saves a child's life and so is allowed to stay with them.


title: Govindudu Andarivadele

text: Balaraju's granddaughter Satya comes back from Hyderabad. Abhiram is surprised to see Satya's cultured behaviour and traditional attire, as Bunny and Abhiram previously met her in a pub in Hyderabad. She is equally surprised to see him; his cell phone contains photos showing how she spent her time at the pub. Abhiram blackmails Satya with the photos, but she then asks Bangari to get Abhiram's cell phone by telling him that Abhiram is blackmailing her. Their collective efforts fail, and Baachi is also dragged into the affair.


title: Govindudu Andarivadele

text: A fight happens between Abhiram and Baachi, deepening their rivalry. To get rid of Bangari, Balaraju arranges Chitra's marriage. Satya tells Bangari about this who then kidnaps Chitra. Abhiram chases him, saves Chitra and gets Bangari arrested. Satya finds Abhiram's phone and finds out his true identity. Abhiram offers to help Balaraju renovate the hospital he built with his father's assistance; Balaraju accepts the offer. Abhiram finds out that Satya has his phone when he goes to call his father. She deletes the photos of her. After learning that she knows the truth, Abhiram does a deal with her. They fall in love with each other.


title: Govindudu Andarivadele

text: Later, Chitra, now Abhiram's friend at the house, tells him why Bangari was expelled from the house. Bangari and Chitra love one another and Balaraju does not approve of it, as Bangari is rather spoilt and drinks too much. Frustrated and intoxicated, Bangari enters Chitra's room and tells her of his attempt to rape her so as to marry her. However, Balaraju expels him from the house after catching him. Balaraju’s brother-in-law and his son, Rajendra, who plan to set up a special economic zone manufacturing beer, release Bangari from jail. Abhiram's father sends the advanced equipment to Hyderabad, which Bunny and Bangari receive. Bangari attacks Bunny and seizes the equipment. Abhiram stops Bangari and his men and reveals his identity. Bangari realises what he has done and reconciles with Balaraju. The equipment is unloaded at the hospital.


title: Govindudu Andarivadele

text: Indu too visits Balaraju's house. Satya gets engaged to an American NRI doctor. However, she tells Abhiram that she would die if she doesn't marry him. He decides to break up with her and upon hearing this, Bangari reveals Abhiram and Indu's identity to Balaraju, who orders Abhiram's and Indu to leave the house.


title: Govindudu Andarivadele

text: Later, Abhiram gets a phone call from his father who plans to come back to the village. Suddenly, Baachi kidnaps Indu. An injured Abhiram manages to save her, but gets shot by Baachi. Bangari arrives and Abhiram prevents Baachi from getting harmed by saying that Baachi too is a family member. Chandrasekhar comes to the hospital and operates on Abhiram. When Abhiram regains consciousness, Balaraju welcomes him, Indu and Chandrasekhar back into the family. The film ends with Abhiram getting married to Satya and Bangari to Chitra, also coinciding with Balaraju and Baby's anniversary.


title: Govindudu Andarivadele

text: In September 2010, Chiranjeevi invited Krishna Vamsi to discuss making a movie with Ram Charan as the lead. After a story-narration session, they agreed to move ahead. In August 2013, after a three-year gap, it was announced that Ram Charan, Daggubati Venkatesh and Krishna would act in a film directed by Vamsi and produced by Bandla Ganesh under the banner Parameswara Art Productions banner. At that point, however, the script was not yet complete and so the project was still put on hold.


title: Govindudu Andarivadele

text: In December 2013, Bandla Ganesh tweeted a photo featuring himself, Krishna Vamsi and Director of Photography Sameer Reddy at the Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple in Antarvedi with the finished script. The film was initially titled "Vijetha" after the 1985 Telugu film which featured Chiranjeevi and Bhanupriya in the lead roles. In March 2014, the supposed story of the film was leaked onto the internet. The story was that Ram Charan played the role of an NRI who visits his joint family to bridge a gap between his father and his father's younger brother.


title: Govindudu Andarivadele

text: On 27 March 2014, when the film poster was released, the title was confirmed as "Govindudu Andarivadele". In mid April 2014, Yuvan Shankar Raja was signed up as the film's composer after S. Thaman opted out because of conflicting projects. Sources reported that talks were also held with G. V. Prakash Kumar. It was the first time that Krishna Vamsi had collaborated with Yuvan Shankar Raja, with the director later informing that he had waited five years to work with the composer. Reports regarding Rajkiran being replaced by Prakash Raj because of Chiranjeevi and the altering of the original script, and that Prakash Raj was included to strengthen the Telugu cultural identity of the film were dismissed as rumours. The film's shoot was put on hold due to the climate at the shooting spot being unsuitable for children acting in the film rather than because of Chiranjeevi. Ram Charan, in an interview with "The Hindu", said that Rajkiran was replaced with Prakash Raj as the sections involving the former ended up looking more like a Tamil film.


title: Govindudu Andarivadele

text: Vamsi wanted to cast a popular actor as the protagonist to widen the film's appeal, and approached Ram Charan because of his relationship with him since Charan's childhood. Venkatesh and Krishna were initially set to play the lead roles along with Charan, with Venkatesh playing the role of Charan's paternal uncle. In September 2013, Kajal Aggarwal was signed to play opposite Charan. Actor Jagapati Babu turned down the role of Charan's father as he wanted to concentrate on antagonistic character roles.


title: Govindudu Andarivadele

text: In November 2013, Tamil actor Rajkiran was chosen to play the role of Charan's grandfather, previously earmarked for Krishna. The producers also began searching for a new actress in the lead role. In December 2013, Venkatesh left the project and was subsequently replaced by Telugu actor Srikanth, saying that the role did not suit his image rather than any other dissatisfaction. Chandini Chowdary was rumoured to have been signed up as the female lead, but this proved not to be the case. Tamannaah was approached as well, but she had prior commitments in "Aagadu" and "". Kajal was finalised by the end of 2013 as Charan's heroine in this film, marking her return to Telugu cinema after a brief hiatus.


title: Govindudu Andarivadele

text: Kamalini Mukherjee was chosen by Krishna Vamsi in late January 2014 by Krishna Vamsi, mainly because of her appearance and her acting talent. A song from rock band "The Tapes" took seven to nine hours to film for a sequence in the film featuring Charan and Kajal. This was the band's first onscreen appearance. Vennela Kishore confirmed his presence in the film twice through his Twitter account.


title: Govindudu Andarivadele

text: In the end of May 2014, Prakash Raj replaced Rajkiran as Ram Charan's grandfather. Vamsi said "Raj Kiran was cast initially and I had doubts about this casting. After shooting a few scenes, I went to Chiranjeevi and he suggested, 'You can think of taking someone who can carry Telugu nativity.' He just made that suggestion, but that was when I replaced Raj Kiran with Prakash Raj". He added that Chiranjeevi did not interfere in this decision. However, Chiranjeevi helped Vamsi and Raj reconcile their differences. Jayasudha and Rahman were signed for key roles. M. S. Narayana was selected to play a supporting role. Adarsh Balakrishna was selected to portray the film's antagonist, recommended by Srikanth to Vamsi.


title: Govindudu Andarivadele

text: Ram Charan's character was Abhiram, an NRI who goes from London to India in search of his roots. He was depicted as the star player of a professional rugby league footballer at Hemel Hempstead. Charan grew a ponytail and appeared in traditional Telugu costume, wearing a dhoti for some scenes in the film, contrasting with the modern clothes he wore in previous films. He also learnt stick fighting skills for the film.


title: Govindudu Andarivadele

text: Vamsi showed Charan a lot of family dramas, drove him to villages to help him understand the atmosphere and mindset of the people. According to Vamsi, Charan "comes across as a shy and reserved guy but has a fun and family loving side to him", which he tried to show onscreen. Srikanth played the role of Charan's younger paternal uncle and wore his hair long for the role. His costume was rustic in appearance. A still of him in costume was shown in the end of July 2014. His "crucial role" in the film was aggressive and rebellious.


title: Govindudu Andarivadele

text: Kajal Aggarwal revealed one of her outfits in the film on 27 July 2014 would be a black half-sari. Jayasudha was selected to play the role of Prakash Raj's wife in the film while Rahman was signed in to play the role of Ram Charan's father. Kamalini Mukherjee's character was named Chitra, a rural girl quite unlike the urbane roles she had played in the past. Adarsh Balakrishna, cast as a flashy M. P.'s son living in the same village, wore jewellery with Indian costume, again with long hair.


title: Govindudu Andarivadele

text: Principal photography began on 6 February 2014 in Hyderabad and continued for 3 days there before a long pre-planned schedule started in Rameswaram, Nagercoil and Pollachi. Kajal joined the sets of the film in Hyderabad on 9 February 2014 and some scenes between herself and Charan were shot there. They also participated in the film's shoot at Nagercoil near Kanyakumari in mid February 2014 after the completion of the schedule at Rameswaram. A fight sequence with Charan, Srikanth and others was filmed at Kanyakumari before shifting to Pollachi. A few action sequences focusing Charan were shot at Pollachi in late March 2014. He also worked on some key action sequences for the film under the supervision of Ram Lakshman in mid May 2014, for which a special set was built. Some song sequences were shot in Malaysia from 2 June 2014.


title: Govindudu Andarivadele

text: The film's shoot continued in Hyderabad from 5 June 2014 and the team planned to go to London after filming some family scenes at the special house set constructed earlier in Ramanaidu Cine Village in Hyderabad. 30 scenes and 2 songs were shot in that house set in Hyderabad over a period of 45 days. Prakash Raj allotted bulk dates and the reshoot took 8 days only and not 20 days as earlier reported. After completing the shoot of few scenes and a montage song, the first part of the film's Hyderabad schedule ended on 18 June 2014. The next part commenced on 21 June 2014. At the end of June 2014, another song was shot on a special set featuring mirrors, in which the lead pair participated. Due to incessant rain at Pollachi, the shooting continued at Hyderabad, delaying the planned schedule. The Pollachi schedule therefore began on 23 July 2014, lasting for 5 days. A fresh schedule began in Karaikudi on whose completion, filming continued in Hyderabad from 4 August 2014. The film's shoot was temporarily halted on 19 August 2014 because of the statewide survey in Telangana.


title: Govindudu Andarivadele

text: The next schedule began in London on 22 August 2014. A romantic song was shot on Charan and Kajal in early September 2014 in Jordan. After its completion, a song was shot with the lead pair in London. The production unit returned to Hyderabad on 14 September 2014. A quarter of the film was shot in London. Charan's introduction scene was shot at the Pennine Way Stadium, and a rugby match was shot at the Rugby League club in Hemel Hempstead in Hertfordshire in south-eastern England. To add some authenticity, the local club captain B. J. Swindells was brought on board. Two songs sequences were shot simultaneously in Hyderabad.


title: Govindudu Andarivadele

text: The principal photography ended on 22 September 2014 on completion of the songs shoot. However, it was officially announced later that the film would be released without a song which would be shot on 2 and 3 October and then be added to the film.


title: Govindudu Andarivadele

text: The film's dubbing activities commenced at Shabdalaya Studios in Hyderabad on 18 July 2014. The supporting cast then dubbed their respective roles. Yuvan Shankar Raja started re-recording for the film's first half on 26 August 2014 at his studio in Chennai. Srikanth completed dubbing for his role on 10 September 2014 and Charan completed dubbing on 24 September 2014. Chiranjeevi personally monitored the post-production works and promotion strategies. In an interview with the "Deccan Chronicle", Chiranjeevi mentioned that Charan also participated in the production and editing of the film's trailer and took extra care of the trailer's release and had asked him to check if everything was right. While shooting two songs at Hyderabad, the post production works were completed.


title: Govindudu Andarivadele

text: A copy of the film was sent to Central Board of Film Certification on 26 September 2014. The same day, the film was awarded an 'U/A' certificate instead of a clean 'U' due to some sections and scenes between the lead actors. The Board asked the makers to obtain a No Objection Certificate from Animal Welfare Board of India to retain scenes featuring animals. They muted a few dialogues as well as "backless" views of the heroine. They also insisted on obscuring the brands on alcoholic drinks as well as the display of mandatory warnings "when Srikanth is smoking".


title: Govindudu Andarivadele

text: Ram Charan said in an interview that the film was partially inspired by "Seetharamayya Gari Manavaralu" (1991), although there were also remarks about tracing inspiration from Vamsi's previous works, "Ninne Pelladata" (1996) and "Murari" (2001). Critics also compared the film to other family dramas like "Brindavanam" (2010) and "Attarintiki Daredi" (2013).


title: Govindudu Andarivadele

text: In an interview with "The Hindu, "Vamsi said "Tell me one new story that has been written since Ramayana and Mahabharata. "Aatma Bandhuvu" (1962), "Devudu Chesina Manushulu" (1973), "Ramarajyamlo Bheemaraju" (1983) and "Muddula Manavaralu" (1996) — which was a remake of the Tamil film "Poove Poochooda Vaa" (1985) — all had a similar structure of a protagonist returning to unite a family". He added that this film was made to showcase the folk arts, music and spirituality of the Telugu people. He also drew inspiration from the husband and wife scenes shown in the film "Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham..." (2001), as he wanted to incorporate the same themes into Telugu films.


title: Govindudu Andarivadele

text: Yuvan Shankar Raja composed the music for the film, which marked his first collaboration with Vamsi; it was also the first time he scored for a film starring Srikanth and Ram Charan. The soundtrack, consisting of six songs, was released on 1 September 2014 at Shilpakala Vedika in Hyderabad. The audio rights were purchased by Aditya Music. The soundtrack received positive reviews from critics.


title: Govindudu Andarivadele

text: "Govindudu Andarivadele" was released on 1 October 2014. The makers wanted to capitalise on the long holiday of Navratri, followed by Bakrid. Charan attended the film's premiere show in the United States on 30 September 2014 alongside other cast and crew members. The film was released in 750 screens in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, 100 in Karnataka, 50 in Tamil Nadu, 85 in Maharashtra and 60 in other parts of North India; and 154 screens in the United States and 50 screens in other International markets. The film was dubbed into Malayalam and Tamil as "Ekalavya "and" Ram Leela "respectively.


title: Govindudu Andarivadele

text: In mid-July 2014, the distribution rights of the film in the Ceded region were sold for approximately including prints & publicity costs which, as of March 2015, is the highest amount for a Ram Charan film. The Nellore region rights were sold to Hari Pictures for a record price of . Asian Movies acquired the film's overseas distribution rights and released it in collaboration with CineGalaxy, Inc. Aakash Movies distributed the film in the UAE along with Ravi Teja's "Power". Errabus distributed the film in the United Kingdom. Bandla Ganesh himself distributed the film in the Nizam and Krishna regions.


title: Govindudu Andarivadele

text: The first-look posters and stills of the film were unveiled on 26 March 2014 and 27 March 2014. On 26 March 2014, 4 stills of Charan from the film were released into the Internet, coinciding with his birthday on 27 March 2014 and receiving a positive response. The next day, posters designed by Working Title featuring the logo and 3 of those 4 stills were released. The posters also received a positive response and were widely distributed on various social networking sites. The film's teaser was initially planned to be launched on 29 July 2014 at Ramanaidu Studios, but the release was postponed to 7 August 2014. A promotional event was planned at Ramanaidu Studios in Nanakramguda for the teaser's launch.


title: Govindudu Andarivadele

text: The first teaser of 40 seconds was launched on 7 August 2014 with a press conference at the house set in Ramanaidu Studios where the film was shot. The teaser received very good response from the critics and the viewers. Reviewing the teaser, Nivedita Mishra of "Hindustan Times" wrote "Make no mistake, this one is no poor regional cousin of Bollywood. It's got color, good-looking stars with baddies to boot and loads of song and dance executed with a finesse that only Indian film industry can. The teaser of Ram Charan Teja's new film Govindudu Andarivadele is out and proves just that. From lush paddy fields to festive Indian family lives, this one has it all. Watch out for a shot of Ram Charan Teja riding a bullock cart! Quite novel!". "The Times of India" wrote "the teaser looked colorful and quite impressive reminding Krishna Vamsi's style of family and love entertainers". Subramaniam Harikumar of "Bollywood Life" wrote "The teaser sure has raised out hope. A lot of importance seems to be given to the rustic village backdrop with green fields and bullock carts and big ancestral bungalows. The cinematography is top notch with colours melting in your eyes in every frame. The teaser gives equal importance to family, tradition and romance, with all the important characters getting a decent exposure in the promo." The film's teaser received more than 300,000 views within 24 hours of its online release on YouTube. A set of stills were released in the last week of August 2014.


title: Govindudu Andarivadele

text: The film's official trailer was launched on 1 September 2014 at the Shilpakala Vedika along with the film's soundtrack. The trailer too received positive response. As a part of the film's promotion, Bandla Ganesh booked 860 spots on the Telugu news channels for airing the film's teaser and trailer until 2 October 2014. Out of them 70 spots each were booked on TV5, TV9, and Sakshi, while 50 spots each were booked on 14 other Telugu news channels. Post release, Ram Charan and Kajal participated in a special promotional program title "Radhe Govinda" hosted by Anasuya where they spoke about the film as a part of the film's promotion. As a marketing strategy, the makers planned to add the song "Kokkokkodi" to the film being screened in theatres to boost the takings.


title: Govindudu Andarivadele

text: Gemini TV acquired the film's satellite rights for an amount of . The film had its worldwide Television premier on 21 March 2015 on the eve of Ugadi.


title: Govindudu Andarivadele

text: The film received generally positive reviews from critics. Sangeetha Devi Dundoo of "The Hindu" wrote "Filmmakers hope the family audience will troop in, connect with a thought, a dialogue, a character or a bond between the on-screen family members, have a good laugh, shed a few tears and get their money's worth. An old-fashioned story told reasonably well is enough to put a smile on many faces. Krishnavamsi walks this predictable path in "Govindudu Andarivadele"" and added "This oft-repeated tale, has shades of several family dramas told earlier in Telugu, Tamil and Hindi cinema. Yet, Krishna Vamsi makes it his own in the way he narrates it". Sandhya Rao of "Sify" wrote, "Overall "Govindhudu Andhari Vadele" is a neat family drama with the right dash of emotions. The first half is okay, but the second half surely does elevate the film to a different level. Watch GAV this festive season."


title: Govindudu Andarivadele

text: "Oneindia Entertainment" wrote ""Govindudu Andarivadele" is a must watch family entertainer with emotion, action, family bonding and love. The movie has included everything which should be in a family drama. GAV will be a grand treat this festival season" and rated the film 3.5 out of 5. Karthik Pasupulate of "The Times of India" gave the film 3 out of 5 and said, "The film has some moments that stand out like Ram Charan's introduction on the rugby field, a couple of well picturised songs, a few smart one-liners and a couple of profound musings on the importance of family and overly color graded village imagery", before concluding that "the movie does offer [...] some feel good melodrama and production values that are more rich than original." Suresh Kaviyarani of the "Deccan Chronicle" rated the film 3 out of 5 and said, "You can watch it once for Charan's performance and it is a clean family drama. This is a holiday time and it may work out for this film."


title: Govindudu Andarivadele

text: In contrast, Subramanian Harikumar of "Bollywood Life" gave a mixed review saying, "Govindudu Andarivadele is an earnest attempt to dish out a clean family entertainer. But alas it's cliche ridden plot pulls it down." He felt that the film was pleasing to the eyes but lacked novelty in its novelty in story and treatment, giving the film a rating of 2.5 out of 5. Haricharan Pudipeddi, writing for "IANS", gave a mixed review saying, ""Govindudu Andarivadele" displays Telugu filmmakers' reluctance to dig deep within a genre. There's enough material readily available from our own lives for an engaging family tale, but rarely do we come across anything realistic." and gave the film a rating of 2 out of 5.


title: Govindudu Andarivadele

text: "Govindudu Andarivadele" took a record opening at the box office. The film grossed approximately in both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana together on the first day of its theatrical run. This surpassed the opening-day collections of Mahesh Babu's "", which grossed in the region. According to trade reports, the film amassed approximately in Nizam while the Ceded region registered around . Collections in the East Godavari and Guntur regions were around and respectively. According to trade analyst Trinath, the film collected a total of in India alone on its release day. The film collected a share of in five days at the AP/Nizam region. The film managed to gross a total of at AP/Nizam region by the end of its first week run. This took the first week worldwide collections to approximately share. The film had the third-highest AP/Nizam share as well as having the top worldwide week one share, surpassing "Seethamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu" (2013) and "Race Gurram".


title: Govindudu Andarivadele

text: The film's collections slowed down on its eighth day, collecting at Nizam box office alone. This took its nine-day worldwide collections to . On the next day, there was a drop of nearly 50% in the film's collections when compared to the release day because of new releases in many theatres. On that day, it collected approximately at the worldwide box office. It witnessed subsequent growth on the second Saturday and collected share at AP/Nizam Box office. The film grossed a total of at AP/Nizam region in 12 days and with revenue from Karnataka, Rest of India and Overseas, the 12-day global total was with which this film surpassed the final collections of "Businessman" (2012), "Pokiri" (2006), "Arundhati" (2009), "Aagadu" and "Iddarammayilatho" (2013). The film was declared one of the biggest hits of 2014 at the box office.


title: Govindudu Andarivadele

text: The film crossed the mark in two weeks with the film collecting at AP/Nizam Box office and the rest from Karnataka, Rest of India and Overseas. It was Ram Charan's fifth film to gross in excess of . The film's final collections in AP/Nizam region stood at , in Karnataka and from rest of India. It surpassed the final collections of "Legend" but failed to enter the list of all-time top 10 Telugu films with highest worldwide share, ending in thirteenth place behind "Eega" (2012). The film completed a 50-day run on 20 November 2014.


title: Govindudu Andarivadele

text: The film had the biggest opening for a Ram Charan picture in the US, where it grossed on its first day, according to trade analyst Jeevi of "Idlebrain.com". The film grossed in 2 days in the US. The film grossed around on its third day in the US including reported and non-reported screens, making the film Ram Charan's highest-grossing US-released film. By the end of the first weekend, the film grossed around at US Box office including rentrak and non reporting screens. It earned around rentrak only from 121 locations in 5 days including Tuesday premier shows in the US. The film collected an amount of in its lifetime at Overseas Box office.


title: Govindudu Andarivadele

text: In mid January 2015, an associate of Prabhu Deva said he was interested in remaking the film in Hindi after watching a special screening by Bandla Ganesh. Ganesh confirmed that Prabhu watched the film and liked it. Prakash Raj was also expected to be a part of the remake as Prabhu was impressed with his performance.


title: Legalization of non-medical cannabis in the United States

text: In the United States, the non-medical use of cannabis is legalized in 21 states (plus Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the District of Columbia) and decriminalized in 10 states (plus the U.S. Virgin Islands) as of November 2022. "Decriminalization" refers to a policy of reduced penalties for cannabis offenses, typically involving a civil penalty for possessing small amounts (similar to how a minor traffic violation is treated), instead of criminal prosecution or the threat of arrest. In jurisdictions without penalty the policy is referred to as "legalization", although the term "decriminalization" is sometimes used for this purpose as well.


text: During a wave of decriminalization in the 1970s, Oregon became the first state to decriminalize cannabis in 1973. Ten more states followed by the end of 1978, influenced by the Shafer Commission's endorsement of decriminalization in 1972. By the end of the decade the tide had turned in the other direction, however, and no state would decriminalize again until 2001.


text: Efforts to legalize cannabis included a number of ballot initiatives leading up to 2012, but none succeeded. In 2012, success was finally achieved when Washington and Colorado became the first two states to legalize. In 2014 and 2016 several more states followed, and in 2018 Vermont became the first to legalize through an act of state legislature. All jurisdictions that have legalized cannabis allow for its commercial sale, except the District of Columbia. All allow for personal cultivation except Washington State and New Jersey.


text: At the federal level, cannabis remains prohibited for any use under the Controlled Substances Act of 1970. The Justice Department has generally not enforced federal law in states that have legalized recreational cannabis, however. In December 2020, a bill to remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act was passed by the U.S. House but was not voted on by the Senate.


text: Cannabis was popularized in the U.S. around the mid-19th century, used mostly for its therapeutic benefits in the treatment of a wide range of medical conditions. Its use as medicine continued into the 20th century, but declined somewhat due to a number of different factors. The recreational use of cannabis began to emerge in the early 20th century, introduced to the U.S. by Mexicans fleeing the dictatorship of President Porfirio Díaz. As its use spread north of the border, cannabis became stigmatized due to strong anti-Mexican sentiments that had taken hold.


text: By 1936, the non-medical use of cannabis had been banned in every state. Cannabis was then effectively outlawed at the federal level, following the passage of the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937. Cannabis remained mostly an underground drug until the 1960s, when it found widespread popularity among large numbers of young people and hippies, and was used commonly at protests against the Vietnam War. Cannabis was officially banned for any use with the passage of the 1970 Controlled Substances Act, subsequent to the Supreme Court's overturning of the Marihuana Tax Act in 1969 (in the case "Leary v. United States").


text: The movement to legalize cannabis in the U.S. was sparked by the 1964 arrest of , a San Francisco man who walked into the city's Hall of Justice and lit up a joint, requesting to be arrested. As it was a felony to use cannabis in California, Eggemeier was sent to prison where he was held for close to a year. Eggemeier was defended by James R. White, an attorney who had not taken a drug case before nor was he much familiar with cannabis, but took interest in the matter as a devoted civil libertarian (describing himself as "to the right of Barry Goldwater"). While researching the case, White became a strong proponent for the legalization of cannabis, and went on to found LEMAR (shortened version of LEgalize MARijuana) in December 1964. LEMAR was the first organization in the U.S. dedicated to ending cannabis prohibition.


text: Among those in attendance at the first LEMAR rally was poet Allen Ginsberg, who was staying in Berkeley at the time. Upon returning home to New York City he founded the first East Coast chapter of LEMAR. Ginsberg's activism and writings helped inspire the founding of other LEMAR chapters, including a Detroit chapter by fellow poet John Sinclair. Similar groups advocating for legalization formed across the country in the ensuing years.


text: By 1971, two main groups supporting cannabis reform had emerged – Amorphia based in San Francisco (founded by Blair Newman) and the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) based in Washington, D.C. NORML was founded by Keith Stroup, an attorney who was introduced to Ralph Nader while working for the National Commission on Product Safety. Drawing upon his experience working with the consumer advocate Nader, Stroup sought to create an advocacy group dedicated to protecting cannabis consumers. He founded NORML in 1970, with the aim of adopting a more professionalized manner of advocacy than other cannabis reform groups (such as Amorphia) more closely associated with the counterculture. Eventually Amorphia was merged into NORML as it ran into financial difficulties, becoming the California chapter of NORML in 1974.


text: On October 27, 1970, the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act was signed into law by President Richard Nixon. Known mainly for its drug scheduling provision (contained in Title II, the Controlled Substances Act), the act also included a number of reforms that significantly reduced penalties for certain drug offenses. In particular, it eliminated mandatory minimum drug sentences, made simple possession of all drugs a misdemeanor, and allowed probation and expungement for first-time offenders. Though the act still imposed significant penalties for cannabis (up to a year's imprisonment for possession of small amounts), the change from a felony offense marked a notable liberalization in federal policy. The act also provided a model for state governments to follow, and by 1973 only two states still classified simple possession of cannabis as a felony.


text: An additional requirement of the Controlled Substances Act was the establishment of a federal commission (formally titled the National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse) to study the effects of cannabis use. President Nixon appointed nine of the commission's 13 members, including former Pennsylvania governor Raymond P. Shafer who was designated to serve as chairman. Nixon conveyed to Shafer his strong opposition to the legalization of cannabis, and he advised Shafer to "keep your commission in line" months before the first of two final reports was issued. The release of the 1184-page report would not be to Nixon's liking, however, as the Shafer Commission concluded in March 1972 that cannabis was a relatively benign drug whose dangers had been exaggerated. The report also advised that harsh laws against cannabis did more harm than good, and recommended the removal of criminal penalties for possession and distribution of small amounts of the drug. These findings were influential in persuading 11 states to decriminalize during the 1970s; however, at the federal level no such policy reforms were enacted.


text: During the early 1970s legislative efforts to reform cannabis laws began to materialize. Among these was a 1972 ballot measure seeking to legalize cannabis in California, spearheaded by the group Amorphia. Proposition 19 – the California Marijuana Initiative – ultimately failed with 33% of the vote. Although it was defeated by a wide margin, supporters of the initiative were encouraged by the results, which provided momentum to other reform efforts in California throughout the decade.


text: In 1973 Oregon became the first state to decriminalize cannabis, reducing the penalty for up to one ounce to a $100 fine. Other states were reluctant to follow, however, in part due to influence from the Nixon administration which staunchly opposed such reforms. Decriminalization efforts were bolstered by Nixon's resignation in August 1974, however, ushering in the Ford administration and a more tolerant view toward cannabis from the White House. The November 1974 election also brought a wave of new Democrats to state legislatures across the country.


text: In 1975 a federal committee examined the use of cannabis and other drugs in America, building upon the findings of the Shafer Commission three years earlier. Although the committee – the Domestic Council Drug Abuse Task Force – did not advocate decriminalization outright, it did recommend attention be shifted to more harmful drugs (such as heroin), and concluded that cannabis was the "least serious" drug problem facing the nation. Also in 1975, congressional hearings were held on decriminalizing cannabis for the first time. As these developments provided momentum to reform efforts, a total of five more states (Alaska, Maine, Colorado, California, and Ohio) decriminalized in 1975.


text: Shortly after Alaska decriminalized in 1975, a ruling by the Supreme Court of Alaska in the case "Ravin v. State" effectively legalized cannabis in the state. The ruling stemmed from the 1972 arrest of Irwin Ravin, an Alaska resident who allowed himself to be caught possessing cannabis in order to challenge state law. At trial, Ravin's defense argued that the state constitution guaranteed a right to privacy, which extended to the use of cannabis in one's home. In May 1975 the state Supreme Court agreed, legalizing the use, possession, and cultivation of cannabis in amounts for personal use.


text: In the following years, decriminalization laws passed in Minnesota (1976), Mississippi (1977), New York (1977), North Carolina (1977), and Nebraska (1978). NORML was actively involved in these efforts, lobbying in support of legislation and paying for proponents of decriminalization (including members of the Shafer Commission) to travel to various states to testify.


text: During the 1970s various cities also decriminalized cannabis, such as Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1972 and Madison, Wisconsin in 1977. Additionally, San Francisco residents approved Proposition W in 1978, a non-binding measure directing city law enforcement to "cease the arrest and prosecution of individuals involved in the cultivation, transfer, or possession of marijuana". Mayor George Moscone was assassinated a few weeks later, however, and the initiative was subsequently disregarded.


text: As decriminalization efforts continued to progress during the 1970s, many supporters of reform – including Stroup himself – believed federal decriminalization was just around the corner. This optimism was particularly buoyed by the 1976 election of President Jimmy Carter, who spoke in favor of decriminalization during his presidential campaign (earning him the support of Stroup and NORML). Carter was urged to speak in support of decriminalization by Peter Bourne, an Atlanta physician who grew close to Carter during his time as Georgia governor. Upon being elected president, Carter gave Bourne an office in the West Wing and the official title "Special Assistant to the President for Drug Abuse". From this position, Bourne continued to advocate for cannabis decriminalization, while also developing a close relationship with Stroup and NORML. In August 1977, the White House issued its first official position paper on drug policy, which Stroup helped draft. Included in the paper was a call for up to one ounce of cannabis to be decriminalized at the federal level.


text: By the fall of 1977, the relationship between Bourne and Stroup had begun to sour. The Carter administration was providing helicopters to the government of Mexico, which were being used to eradicate cannabis crops by spraying the herbicide paraquat. Stroup argued that these crops could find their way into the U.S. and harm American consumers of the drug. Simultaneously, Stroup was growing frustrated that the administration was not doing more to support the decriminalization policies that it had previously championed. By March 1978 Stroup's anger had reached a boiling point, as Bourne and the administration continued to support paraquat spraying in the face of growing public opposition to the practice and emerging evidence that it posed a serious health risk. Stroup decided to take matters into his own hands, contacting reporter Gary Cohn and informing him that Bourne had used cocaine at the annual Christmas party hosted by NORML a few months earlier. Although this information was not immediately published, in July 1978, when Bourne was in the midst of a scandal over writing an illegal prescription, the cocaine revelation came to light. Faced with two simultaneous scandals of illegal prescription writing and drug use, Bourne resigned from his position.


text: The resignation of Peter Bourne was considered a significant blow to decriminalization efforts in a number of ways. First, there were no advisers pushing Carter to support decriminalization anymore, as Bourne's successor Lee Dogoloff was not particularly sympathetic to the cause. Also, the embarrassment of the Bourne scandal, along with allegations of drug use that had been made against other members of the administration, made decriminalization a much more politically sensitive topic that Carter thus sought to avoid. It was not just the Carter administration that had been damaged from the incident, however. Stroup's role in the scandal proved to be a major embarrassment for NORML, and by December 1978 led to his resignation, due to the anger and distrust that his actions had caused. The departure of Stroup also caused NORML to lose the support of some of its top donors, including its largest benefactor the Playboy Foundation.


text: By the end of the 1970s, efforts to decriminalize cannabis had stalled at both the state and federal level. Although the fallout of the Bourne scandal played a significant role, there was another factor at play in bringing about this shift. A movement of anti-drug parent activists was on the rise, driven by a spike in adolescent drug use and the wide availability of paraphernalia products for sale (some of which resembled children's toys). The movement sprang out of Atlanta in 1976, as a number of support groups were formed for parents concerned about teen drug use. The groups soon spread across the country and began turning attention to legislative affairs such as halting decriminalization efforts and passing anti-paraphernalia laws. Momentum continued to grow as President Reagan took office in 1981 and first lady Nancy Reagan strongly embraced the cause. In the span of a few years the movement to decriminalize had effectively been quashed.


text: During the Reagan years, the federal war on drugs was significantly ramped up, and a number of states acted to increase penalties for drug crimes. Meanwhile, NORML struggled to regain the influence that it once held, as it dealt with severe decreases in funding and membership, and underwent frequent changes to organizational leadership. In 1985 part of NORML was split off to found the Drug Policy Foundation, which was then merged with the Lindesmith Center to become the Drug Policy Alliance in 2000. Members of NORML further split off in 1995 to found the Marijuana Policy Project.


text: In 1990, Alaska voters approved a ballot initiative to recriminalize cannabis, overriding the court decision that legalized cannabis 15 years earlier. Also in 1990, the Solomon–Lautenberg amendment was enacted at the federal level, leading many states to further criminalize cannabis by passing "Smoke a joint, lose your license" laws. These laws imposed mandatory driver's license suspensions of at least six months for committing any type of drug offense (regardless of whether any motor vehicle was involved) including the simple possession of cannabis. As of 2021 only three states (Alabama, Arkansas, and Florida) continue to have such laws in effect.


text: After Nebraska decriminalized cannabis in 1978, no other state would follow for over two decades, until Nevada decriminalized in 2001. In subsequent years a number of major cities decriminalized cannabis or made enforcement of cannabis laws the lowest priority. Among the first major cities to pass such measures were Seattle (2003), Oakland (2004), Denver (2005), and San Francisco (2006). In the years that followed reform efforts continued to gain steam, with decriminalization laws passing in Massachusetts (2008), Connecticut (2011), Rhode Island (2012), Vermont (2013), the District of Columbia (2014), Maryland (2014), Missouri (2014), the U.S. Virgin Islands (2014), Delaware (2015), Illinois (2016), New Hampshire (2017), New Mexico (2019), North Dakota (2019), Hawaii (2019), Virginia (2020), and Louisiana (2021). As of 2022 ten states have decriminalization policies in effect, and an additional sixteen states have decriminalized that later legalized.


text: Prior to 2012, ballot initiatives seeking to legalize cannabis were attempted in a number of states but none succeeded. Among these attempts were California in 1972 (33% support), Oregon in 1986 (26%), Alaska in 2000 (41%), Nevada in 2002 (39%), Alaska in 2004 (44%), Colorado in 2006 (46%), Nevada in 2006 (46%), and California in 2010 (47%).


text: In 2012, success was finally achieved for legalization advocates in the states of Washington and Colorado, when voters approved Initiative 502 and Amendment 64. In subsequent years, cannabis was legalized by ballot measure in Oregon (2014), Alaska (2014), the District of Columbia (2014), California (2016), Nevada (2016), Maine (2016), Massachusetts (2016), Michigan (2018), Arizona (2020), Montana (2020), New Jersey (2020), Maryland (2022), and Missouri (2022), and by an act of legislature in Vermont (2018), the Northern Mariana Islands (2018), Guam (2019), Illinois (2019), New York (2021), Virginia (2021), New Mexico (2021), Connecticut (2021), and Rhode Island (2022). In all of these jurisdictions, commercial distribution of cannabis has been legalized except in the District of Columbia, personal cultivation has been legalized except in Washington State and New Jersey, public consumption is prohibited except in New York (though on-premises consumption is allowed in some jurisdictions), and use by individuals under 21 years old is prohibited.


text: After the first states legalized in 2012, uncertainty remained over how the federal government would respond. Seeking to clarify, the Justice Department issued the Cole Memorandum in August 2013, which specified eight conditions under which enforcement of federal law would be prioritized (such as distribution of cannabis to minors or diversion across state borders). Aside from these situations, the memo generally allowed for the commercial distribution of cannabis in states where such activity had been legalized. The Cole memo was only a non-binding set of guidelines for federal prosecutors, however, and therefore did not carry the force of law.


text: Although the Cole memo was adhered to by federal prosecutors, members of Congress sought the assurances that a legally binding act of legislation could provide. The McClintock–Polis amendment was hence introduced in the U.S. House (as an attachment to the Commerce, Justice, and Science appropriations bill for fiscal year 2016) to prohibit the Justice Department from interfering with the implementation of state cannabis laws regarding both recreational and medical use. The McClintock–Polis amendment was narrowly defeated on June 3, 2015, by a vote of 206 to 222.


text: The Cole memo remained in effect until January 2018 when it was rescinded by Attorney General Jeff Sessions. The intended impact of the rescission was not immediately made clear, however, in regards to what kind of crackdown (if any) on the states would be forthcoming. In response to the memo's rescission, the STATES Act was introduced in Congress after consultation with President Donald Trump, to enshrine into law protections that the Cole memo previously provided. Trump confirmed to reporters his intent to sign the STATES Act should it be approved by Congress.


text: On December 20, 2018, the 2018 United States farm bill was signed into law, legalizing the cultivation of hemp containing less than 0.3% THC at the federal level. An unintended consequence of the bill was that it also legalized at the federal level the production of delta-8-THC, an isomer of THC with similar psychoactive effects. Use of delta-8-THC subsequently became popular as an alternative to cannabis in states where cannabis is illegal. As of 2022, delta-8-THC is considered to be legal in 32 states.


text: On June 20, 2019, four years after the McClintock–Polis amendment was defeated, a similar amendment protecting state-legal cannabis activities was approved by the House. The amendment, introduced by Rep. Earl Blumenauer and attached to the CJS appropriations bill for fiscal year 2020, passed by a 267–165 vote.


text: On September 25, 2019, the House of Representatives approved the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act by a 321–103 vote. The bill, which seeks to improve access to banks for cannabis businesses, is the first standalone cannabis reform bill approved by either chamber of Congress.


text: On November 20, 2019, the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act passed the House Judiciary Committee by a 24–10 vote. It was the first time a federal bill to legalize cannabis had ever passed a congressional committee. The MORE Act passed the full House of Representatives on December 4, 2020, by a vote of 228–164. It passed the House for a second time on April 1, 2022, by a vote of 220–204.


text: On October 6, 2022, President Joe Biden announced he would pardon all prior federal offenses of simple possession and urge governors to do the same, and asked the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Attorney General to initiate the administrative process to review expeditiously how cannabis is scheduled under federal law.


text: In 1972, President Richard Nixon commissioned the National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse to produce an in-depth report on cannabis. The report, "Marijuana: A Signal of Misunderstanding", found cannabis prohibition constitutionally suspect and stated regardless of whether the courts would overturn the prohibition of cannabis possession, the executive and legislative branches have a duty to obey the Constitution.


text: "It's a matter of individual freedom of choice", said ACLU President Nadine Strossen in an interview. "Does that mean they should do it? Not necessarily, not any more than somebody should smoke or drink or eat McDonald's hamburgers."


text: U.S. attitudes toward legalization and decriminalization started dramatically liberalizing in the 1990s, and a 2018 study in Social Science Research found that the main drivers of these changes in attitudes were a decline in the perception of the riskiness of marijuana, changes in media framing of marijuana, a decline in overall punitiveness, and a decrease in religious affiliation. Additionally, a Gallup poll conducted in 2022 found that 53% of Americans believe that cannabis has a positive effect on people and 45% say that it has a negative effect. Meanwhile, 71% of Americans believe that alcohol has a negative effect on people.


text: Marijuana (cannabis) is an herb drug, which contains a very active component delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). For thousands of years, it was used for medical purposes in many different parts of the world. Recent studies also agreed that THC had great potential benefits for medical purposes. A number of patients who have HIV, multiple sclerosis (MS), neuropathic chronic pain, and cancer were under medical marijuana treatment. The treatments could either be smoke on cannabis or oral preparations, which were synthetic THC and synthetic equivalent.


text: According to Medical Uses of Marijuana (Cannabis sativa), patients with HIV reported that the drug reduced mixed neuropathic pain more significantly in comparison to other placebo drugs. They addressed that there was a minimum of 30% pain reduction when they were under smoked medical marijuana treatment. Furthermore, under the same type of treatment, most of the patients with multiple sclerosis showed dramatic improvements in their symptoms. After the treatment, their handwriting was much clearer and head tremor pain was less than the samples taken before the treatment. In addition, many patients that associated with chronic pain, multiple sclerosis were also under marijuana oral preparation treatment. Patients treated with dronabinol, a synthetic THC, reported that there was a 50% pain reduction compared to 30% that was experienced when given the placebo. Furthermore, cancer treatment involving chemotherapy also agreed that dronabinol had significant benefits on delaying nausea and vomiting for patients.


text: However, medical marijuana treatments are not for everyone and it may cause adverse side effects for others. Overall, the potential long-term side effects of medical marijuana are not yet fully classified. As a result, further studies must carry out to fully understand the benefits as well as adverse psychiatric and medical side effects of the drug.


text: The medical use of marijuana for pain relief could be safer than traditional opioids used for pain relief as marijuana cannot be overdosed on and is less addictive. Marijuana could also replace the use of common non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as Advil or Aleve that have been known to cause kidney or ulcer problems. The medical use of marijuana similarly can be used to curb stress-induced cravings, anxiety and lack of impulse control that cause people to relapse in people with drug and alcohol addiction. In Colorado and Oregon, the most common use for marijuana is pain, spasticity associated with multiple sclerosis, nausea, posttraumatic stress disorder, cancer, epilepsy, cachexia, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, and degenerative neurological conditions.


text: Many proponents of cannabis decriminalization have argued that decriminalizing cannabis would largely reduce costs of maintaining the criminal justice and law enforcement systems, while legalizing cannabis to allow the cultivation and sale would generate a substantial amount of income from taxing cannabis sales. In Colorado, in June 2020, monthly marijuana sales reached $199 million. In 2020, state and local governments earned over $3 billion in tax revenue from cannabis taxes. Although some cannabis proponents caution that overtaxation and overregulation of cannabis can result in political corruption, bribery, and an even bigger black market than before legalization.


text: In 2005, more than 530 distinguished economists called for the legalization of cannabis in an open letter to President Bush, Congress, Governors, and state legislatures. The endorsers included conservative economist Milton Friedman and two other Nobel Prize-winners, Dr. George Akerlof and Dr. Vernon Smith.


text: The letter stated, among other things, "We, the undersigned, call your attention to the attached report [which]... shows that marijuana legalization — replacing prohibition with a system of taxation and regulation — would save $7.7 billion per year in state and federal expenditures on prohibition enforcement and produce tax revenues of at least $2.4 billion annually if marijuana were taxed like most consumer goods. If, however, marijuana were taxed similarly to alcohol or tobacco, it might generate as much as $6.2 billion annually..."


text: We, therefore, urge the country to commence an open and honest debate about marijuana prohibition. We believe such a debate will favor a regime in which marijuana is legal but taxed and regulated like other goods. At a minimum, this debate will force advocates of current policy to show that prohibition has benefits sufficient to justify the cost to taxpayers, foregone tax revenues, and numerous ancillary consequences that result from marijuana prohibition."


text: Other arguments point out that the funds saved from cannabis decriminalization could be used to enforce laws for other, more serious and violent crimes.


text: In 1988, Michael Aldrich and Tod Mikuriya published "Savings in California Marijuana Law Enforcement Costs Attributable to the Moscone Act of 1976" in the "Journal of Psychoactive Drugs". The study estimated California saved almost one billion dollars in a twelve-year period between 1976 and 1988, as a result of the Moscone Act of 1976 that decriminalized cannabis.


text: In 2003, the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) published "Economic Costs of Drug Abuse", which stated without separately analyzing cannabis related costs, the United States was spending $12.1 billion on law enforcement and court costs, and $16.9 billion in corrections costs, totaling $29 billion.


text: In 2004, Scott Bates of the Boreal Economic Analysis & Research center prepared a study for Alaskans for Rights & Revenues entitled "The Economic Implications of Marijuana Legalization in Alaska." The study estimated the Alaskan government was spending $25–30 million per year enforcing cannabis prohibition laws. The study found if the purchase of cannabis were to be taxed as a legal commodity, tax revenues would increase by about $10–20 million per year, making $35–50 million per year in funds available.


text: In 2006, a study by Jon Gettman entitled "Marijuana Production in the United States" was published in the "Bulletin of Cannabis Reform". The report states cannabis is the top cash crop in 12 states, is one of the top three cash crops in 30 states, and is one of the top five cash crops in 39 states. Gettman estimated the value of U.S. cannabis production at $35.8 billion, which is more than the combined value of corn and wheat. Furthermore, the report states according to federal estimates, eradication efforts have failed to prevent the spread of cannabis production, as cannabis production has increased tenfold in the past 25 years.


text: In 2006, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime released the 2006 World Drug Report, which stated the North American cannabis market is estimated to be worth anywhere from $10 billion to $60 billion annually. That same study also indicated that the mountainous regions in Appalachia, and the rural areas of the West Coast are ideal for growing cannabis. Allowing farmers there to grow cannabis openly would both provide jobs and reduce the need for expensive federal welfare payments to those areas, which are disproportionately dependent on welfare.


text: In 2006, a study by the University of California, Los Angeles found California has saved $2.50 for every dollar invested into Proposition 36, which decriminalized cannabis and other drug possession charges by allowing outpatient treatment programs instead of incarceration. In the first year, the proposition was enacted (2001), California reportedly saved $173 million, which is likely a result of fewer drug offenders in prison. In the five years after the program was enacted, 8,700 fewer people are in prison for drug offenses.


text: A 2020 study by researchers at UCLA and Yale found that cannabis legalization had led to large amounts of new tax revenue and very little black market cannabis sales in states where the market was well-regulated, but large black markets and lack of tax revenue in states like California with poor regulation.


text: Since cannabis is illegal in the United States, this policy has led to penalties for simple use and possession. Despite these penalties, users continue to find themselves in trouble with the law. The Connecticut Law Revision Commission made the following evaluation:


text: "(1) the costs of arresting and prosecuting marijuana offenders were significantly lower in states that had done away with criminal penalties for possessing small amounts; (2) there was a greater increase in marijuana use in states that continue to treat possession as a crime than in states that treated it as a civil offense; (3) easing the penalties for marijuana did not lead to a substantial increase in the use of either alcohol or hard drugs."


text: The Drug Enforcement Administration has reported that cannabis sales and trafficking support violent criminal gangs. Proponents of fully decriminalizing cannabis to allow the regulated cultivation and sale of cannabis, including Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, argue that fully decriminalizing cannabis would largely decrease financial gains earned by gangs in black market cannabis sales and trafficking.


text: A study in the "Journal of Policy Analysis and Management" by Mark Anderson and Daniel Reese indicated that increased marijuana use in California is a substitute for alcohol. This research showed that participants frequently choose marijuana over other substances. They reported that over 41 percent of the people said that they prefer to use marijuana instead of alcohol. Some of the main reasons for this substitute were 'less withdrawal', 'fewer side-effects' and 'better symptom management'.


text: California Secretary of State's office said that on September 7, 2010 the beer lobby donated $10,000 to Public Safety First, a group which opposed the passage of Proposition 19 to legalize cannabis.


text: Cannabis has been subject to many studies over the past century. Studies acknowledge that cannabis can in rare cases cause adverse reactions, but is generally safer than any commonly consumed drug such as alcohol, tobacco and pharmaceuticals. In fact, in an article published in "The Lancet" journal about the adverse health effects of non-medical cannabis use, Professors Hall and Degenhardt clearly stated that "the public health burden of cannabis use is probably modest compared with that of alcohol, tobacco, and other illicit drugs." Psychopharmacologist and former UK government drugs advisor David Nutt argues, though he is against full declassification, that the harm caused by cannabis is far less than that caused by alcohol or tobacco, which, if they were invented today "would be illegal". A 1933 report by the U.S. Army, titled "Mariajuana Smoking in Panama", found that "There is no evidence that mariahuana as grown here is a 'habit-forming' drug in the sense in which the term is applied to alcohol, opium, cocaine, etc., or that it has any appreciably deleterious influence on the individuals using it."


text: Supporters of decriminalization and decarceration in the United States argue that if cannabis were to be legalized it would reduce the number of non-violent offenders in prison making room for the incarceration of more violent offenders as well as easing the current strain that the large number of cannabis possession cases have on the criminal justice system. They also propose that it would also save taxpayers the cost of incarceration for these non-violent offenders.


text: In the 1970s, there were just under 200,000 criminals serving time in state and federal prisons and upwards of 750,000 in local jails for marijuana-related crimes. Today there are over 1.5 million Americans serving time in an institution. If marijuana was decriminalized, these numbers were further be reduced again to below 700,000 inmates and save the taxpayers billions of dollars per year.


text: The United States spends an estimated $68 billion per year on prisoners with a third of that number have been incarcerated for non-violent drug crimes including a sixth of those numbers as marijuana drug-related offenses. A reduction in the prison population due to decriminalizing marijuana could save an average of $11.3 billion per year on courts, police, prison guards, and other related expenses.


text: Studies on decriminalization of marijuana in Portugal have indicated it to be a "huge success". Drug use rates in Portugal were found to be dramatically lower than the United States with decriminalization enacted.


text: Teenage use of marijuana in the Netherlands where it is sold legally and openly is lower than in the United States.


text: Some people are in favor of decriminalization and legalization of marijuana simply for the moral stance that individuals' freedom for property rights should be respected. This view is generally held in libertarian politics. This view is that regardless of any health effects of someone's lifestyle choice if they are not directly harming anyone else or their property then they should be free to do what they want. Many people who support drug freedom policies may personally be strongly against drug use themselves but still want to protect the freedom of others to do so.


text: To effectively campaign to legalize recreational cannabis use, millions of dollars have been spent to lobby for this reform. George Soros is a billionaire hedge fund manager that has spent over $25 million on marijuana reform efforts. In 2010 Soros wrote an op-ed in the "Wall Street Journal" citing the fact that African Americans are no more likely than other Americans to use marijuana but are far more likely to be arrested for possession.


text: Soros' efforts to reform marijuana laws were predated by fellow billionaire, the late Peter Lewis. Lewis was the former chairman of Progressive Insurance and died on November 23, 2013. Lewis is considered to be the most high-profile billionaire backer of drug reform and the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) estimated that Lewis had spent well over $40 million funding the cause since the 1980s. During the November 2012 election, he spent almost $3 million helping secure the passage of marijuana legalization bills in both Washington State and Massachusetts.


text: The list of capitalists who have joined Soros and Lewis in the cause of Marijuana reform include John Sperling, who is the founder of the University of Phoenix, and George Zimmer who is the founder and former CEO of Men's Wearhouse. Sperling donated $70,000 to support marijuana law reform in Oregon, and Zimmer contributed $20,000 to advocate for marijuana decriminalization in California.


text: These capitalists have helped pave the way for a new type of business with special interests in the cannabis industry. The ArcView Group was founded in 2010 by Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and marijuana advocates Troy Dayton and Steve DeAngelo. Their company teams up angel investors with companies that produce cannabis products and it's been one of the major sources of startup revenue for cannabis-related companies. This company has contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to educational reform groups like the Students for Sensible Drug Policy and a pro-legalization PAC run by the Marijuana Policy Project.


text: The ACLU takes a firm position that decriminalizing cannabis will keep tens of thousands of people from entering into the criminal justice system as police efforts result in both unnecessary arrests and the enforcement of marijuana laws wastes billions of tax payers' dollars. They affirm that removing criminal penalties for marijuana offenses will therefore reduce the U.S. prison population and more effectively protect the public and promote public health. One of the reasons that the ACLU has been such a strong supporter of drug decriminalization is that according to their research drug-related arrests have largely driven America's incarceration rate to unacceptable levels. Drug offenders account for over 500,000 of the more than 2 million people in America's prisons and jails, and drug offenses combined with failed drug tests account for a significant number of those returning to prison for parole and probation violations. Between 2001 and 2010, there were over 7 million pot arrests in the U.S., and of these arrests 88% were for simply having marijuana. These marijuana-related arrests now account for over half of all drug-related arrests in the United States. These arrests tend to be racially imbalanced as a black person is 3.73 times more likely to be arrested than a white person for marijuana-related charges, despite research that suggests fairly equal usage rates between the two races. The ACLU is further troubled by the amount of money that is spent annually to enforce marijuana laws as they claim that over 3 billion dollars are spent every year by states to enforce marijuana regulation, while the drug's availability has not declined. The ACLU claims that over 50% of Americans support marijuana legalization and they are advocating for the legalization of Cannabis through the Criminal Law Reform Project. They believe that the resources that are spent on enforcing marijuana law could be better invested in our communities through education and job training.


text: The NAACP has taken a similar stance and has cited the same data used by the ACLU. The NAACP has been strong supporters of the Respect State Marijuana Laws Act – H.R. 1523 and has reached out to members of congress to get this act passed. This act is designed to decrease penalties for low-level marijuana possession and supports prohibiting federal enforcement of marijuana laws in states which have lesser penalties.


text: There are claims of historical evidence showing that a significant reason for the marijuana ban by the US government was political and racist in nature, aimed to suppress black and Mexican minorities. A quote from a 1934 newspaper reads:


text: "Marihuana influences Negroes to look at white people in the eye, step on white men's shadows and look at a white woman twice."


text: Former Nixon aide and Watergate co-conspirator John Ehrlichman said the following to author Dan Baum in an interview regarding the politics of drug prohibition:


text: "The Nixon campaign in 1968, and the Nixon White House after that, had two enemies: the antiwar left and black people. You understand what I'm saying? We knew we couldn't make it illegal to be either against the war or black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities. We could arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news. Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did."


text: Loo, Hoorens, Hof, and Kahan also talked about this issue in their book 'Cannabis policy, implementation and outcomes'. According to them, statistics show that controlling cannabis use leads in many cases to selective law enforcement, which increases the chances of arresting people from certain ethnicities. For example, while Blacks and Hispanics constitute about 20% of cannabis users in the US, they accounted for 58% of cannabis offenders sentenced under federal law in 1994.


text: In 2013, the ACLU published a report titled "The War on Marijuana in Black and White". The report found that despite marijuana use being roughly equal between blacks and whites, blacks are 3.73 times as likely to be arrested for marijuana possession.


text: Tough marijuana policies have also resulted in the disproportionate mass deportation of over 250,000 legal immigrants in the United States. In a 93-page report, Human Rights Watch described the effects of stringent marijuana and other drug policies on US immigrant families.


text: In New York City, Black and Brown people were the most affected when it came to arrests relating to Marijuana accounting for 94% of all persons in 2020. In Texas, overall arrests for marijuana fell for Blacks from 64,826 in 2017 to 63,019 in 2018 and 24,890 in 2020 to 22,496 in 2021. However, looking at primarily arrests for Blacks, it increased from 19,040 in 2017 to 19,760 in 2018 and 7,457 in 2020 to 7,466 in 2021. According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Black people are 3.64 times more like than white people to be arrested for marijuana related offenses. With more and more states legalizing marijuana, trends related to Black people being arrested have not changed since 2010.