--- description: John Paul Stevens, the third-longest serving justice in Supreme Court history, compared federal laws prohibiting marijuana to alcohol prohibition in the 1920s and early 1930s, and said the government's fight against weed is "not worth the cost" title: John Paul Stevens: Marijuana Should be Legal image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1fdb53eed8b54720/69868c8535ba6f69acc01b52/144973070.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Marijuana](/tag/marijuana/) ## Marijuana Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Retired Justice John Paul Stevens: Marijuana Should Be Legal by [Maya Rhodan](/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 25, 2014 1:36 PM CUT  Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul StevensChip Somodevilla—Getty Images by [Maya Rhodan](/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 25, 2014 1:36 PM CUT The federal government should legalize marijuana, retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens [told](http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/04/24/306524864/retired-justice-john-paul-stevens-marijuana-should-be-legal "undefined") NPR’s Scott Simpson on Thursday. The 94-year-old former justice compared federal laws prohibiting marijuana to alcohol prohibition in the 1920s and early 1930s. “I really think that that’s another instance of public opinion \[that’s\] changed,” Stevens said. “And recognize that the distinction between marijuana and alcoholic beverages is really not much of a distinction.” Stevens, the third-longest serving Justice in Supreme Court history, is currently on a promotional tour for his new book, S_ix Amendments: How and Why We Should Change the Constitution._ “The prohibition against selling and distributing alcoholic beverages has, I think, been generally—there’s a general consensus that it was not worth the cost,” Stevens added. “I think in time that will be the general consensus with respect to this particular drug,” in reference to marijuana. In the court of public opinion, Stevens is reportedly among the majority — 58% of Americans are in favor of legalizing marijuana, according to an October [Gallup](http://www.gallup.com/poll/165539/first-time-americans-favor-legalizing-marijuana.aspx "undefined") poll. \[[NPR](http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/04/24/306524864/retired-justice-john-paul-stevens-marijuana-should-be-legal "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/77180/justice-john-paul-stevens-marijuana/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/77180/justice-john-paul-stevens-marijuana/"},"headline":"Retired Justice John Paul Stevens: Marijuana Should Be Legal","datePublished":"2014-04-25T13:36:53.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T07:30:16.661Z","description":"John Paul Stevens, the third-longest serving justice in Supreme Court history, compared federal laws prohibiting marijuana to alcohol prohibition in the 1920s and early 1930s, and said the government's fight against weed is \"not worth the cost\"","url":"https://time.com/77180/justice-john-paul-stevens-marijuana/","keywords":["Marijuana","Supreme Court"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1fdb53eed8b54720/69868c8535ba6f69acc01b52/144973070.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Maya Rhodan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1fdb53eed8b54720/69868c8535ba6f69acc01b52/144973070.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens Speaks At The American Law Institute Annual Meeting","caption":"Former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens Speaks At The American Law Institute Annual Meeting","creditText":"Chip Somodevilla—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/marijuana/","name":"Marijuana"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/77180/justice-john-paul-stevens-marijuana/","name":"Retired Justice John Paul Stevens: Marijuana Should Be Legal"}}]}] ```