Drug policy reform can occur across a spectrum of policies, and it can sit alongside aspects of other policies.
Most broadly, these are the most common categories of cannabis policy reform:
Prohibition: Criminal penalties for marijuana activity.
Decriminalization: The removal of some criminal penalties for marijuana activity (like low-level personal possession), often replacing criminal penalties with civil fines.
Medical legalization: Medical marijuana laws can range from a limited criminal defense in court for medical marijuana use, all the way to full medical legalization with commercial licensing and testing.
Legalization: Changing state law to make cannabis activity no longer a crime. This often involves striking cannabis from the state’s Controlled Substances Act and adding new rules for legal commercial cultivation, distribution, testing, and sales.