The commission issued a report on its findings in 1972 that called for the decriminalization of marijuana possession in the United States.

[3] While the Controlled Substances Act was being drafted in a House committee in 1970, Assistant Secretary of Health Roger O. Egeberg had recommended that marijuana temporarily be placed in Schedule I, the most restrictive category of drugs, pending the Commission's report.

On March 22, 1972, the Commission's chairman, Raymond P. Shafer, presented a report to Congress and the public entitled "Marihuana: a Signal of Misunderstanding," which favored ending marijuana prohibition and adopting other methods to discourage use.

[5] The Commission's proposed decriminalization of marijuana possession was opposed, in 1974, by the recommendations of a congressional subcommittee chaired by Senator James Eastland.

[3] However, the report has frequently been cited by individuals supporting removal of cannabis from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act.