To Your Self

1 in 4 students becomes a dropout

Average Annual Income

$17,299dropout

$32,266graduate

One half of death row inmates are dropouts

Every

9seconds

A student drops out

Employment rate of Dropouts

45%

To Your Family

Half of all parents on welfare are dropouts

1 in 3 teen moms is a high school dropout

Fatherless children are twice as likely to drop out

Children with fathers at home

Fatherless children

Dropout risk per 10 children

To America

75% of state prison inmates are high school dropouts

$24billion

Annual public spending on incarceration and welfare for dropouts

$42billion

The US would save on health care if each dropout finished 1 more year of school

Lifetime effect on Government Coffers

-$5,191dropout

+$287,384graduate

Level of Drug Criminalization by State

Alaska: Drug possession can result in a felonyAlabama: Drug possession can result in a misdemeanorArkansas: Drug possession can result in a misdemeanorArizona: Drug possession can result in a misdemeanorCalifornia: Drug possession can result in a felonyColorado: Drug possession can result in a felonyConnecticut: Drug possession can result in a felonyWashington, DC: Drug possession can result in a felonyDelaware: Drug possession can result in a felonyFlorida: Drug possession can result in a misdemeanorGeorgia: Drug possession can result in a misdemeanorHawaii: Drug possession can result in a felonyIowa: Drug possession can result in a misdemeanorIdaho: Drug possession can result in a misdemeanorIllinois: Drug possession can result in a misdemeanorIndiana: Drug possession can result in a misdemeanorKansas: Drug decriminalization legislation has been introducedKentucky: Drug possession can result in a misdemeanorLouisiana: Drug possession can result in a misdemeanorMassachusetts: Drug decriminalization legislation has been introducedMaryland: Drug decriminalization legislation has been introducedMaine: Drug decriminalization legislation has been introducedMichigan: Drug possession can result in a misdemeanorMinnesota: Drug possession can result in a felonyMissouri: Drug possession can result in a misdemeanorMississippi: Drug possession can result in a misdemeanorMontana: Drug possession can result in a misdemeanorNorth Carolina: Drug decriminalization legislation has been introducedNorth Dakota: Drug possession can result in a felonyNebraska: Drug possession can result in a misdemeanorNew Hampshire: Drug decriminalization legislation has been introducedNew Jersey: Drug decriminalization legislation has been introducedNew Mexico: Drug decriminalization legislation has been introducedNevada: Drug possession can result in a felonyNew York: Drug possession can result in a felonyOhio: Drug possession can result in a felonyOklahoma: Drug possession can result in a felonyOregon: Drugs have been decriminalizedPennsylvania: Drug possession can result in a felonyRhode Island: Drug decriminalization legislation has been introducedSouth Carolina: Drug possession can result in a felonySouth Dakota: Drug possession can result in a misdemeanorTennessee: Drug possession can result in a felonyTexas: Drug decriminalization legislation has been introducedUtah: Drug possession can result in a felonyVirginia: Drug decriminalization legislation has been introducedVermont: Drug decriminalization legislation has been introducedWashington: Drug decriminalization legislation has been introducedWisconsin: Drug possession can result in a misdemeanorWest Virginia: Drug possession can result in a felonyWyoming: Drug possession can result in a felony
  • Drugs have been decriminalized
  • Drug decriminalization legislation has been introduced
  • Drug possession can result in a misdemeanor
  • Drug possession can result in a felony

Penalties listed are for the lowest level possession or lowest quantities of a controlled substance delineated by law.

Source:

“State-by-State Laws,” Drug Policy Alliance. Accessed November 22, 2021. https://drugpolicy.org/decrim/laws

Information last updated: July 2026