While the Federal Controlled Substances Act prohibits the production, possession and distribution throughout all of the United States of marijuana, some states have reduced or even eliminated state penalties relating to marijuana. When states decrease penalties in this manner, it’s referred to as “decriminalization.” Decriminalization typically means that society officially discourages this act, but that the penalties surrounding it are so small that the discouragement is minimal. “Legalization” removes all penalties surrounding an act, and decriminalization and legalization are different.