An important step in reducing incarceration rates is regulating marijuana at the federal level. About 64 percent of inmates convicted of drug offenses have no history of violent crime. These inmates need rehabilitation, not incarceration. Marijuana possession should be treated more like a traffic violation rather than a reason to send people to jail. The government would still collect their money and would not have to pay for a prisoner's housing costs. In order to reduce our incarceration rates and move toward a country that the average American can call free, there needs to be a federal change in marijuana laws. Today's younger (and sometimes older) culture and society uses marijuana. A step in the right direction is the decriminalization of marijuana, and eventually its legalization. Typically, decriminalization means there is no jail time or criminal record for the first possession of a small amount for personal consumption. This behavior is treated as a minor traffic violation. Currently, eighteen states have decriminalized marijuana. If there was federal decriminalization of marijuana, the number of inmates in federal prisons could decrease significantly.