How criminalizing minor offenses can mean there is less of a deterrent for people to commit more serious crimes.

Those convicted of a crime are often punished twice; once via the legal system’s formal sanction, and again through the stigma of having a criminal record. Murat C. Mungan argues that the criminalization of many small offenses – such as drug possession – means that this stigma is becoming diluted for more serious criminal offenses. If a large percentage of the population is branded as criminals, he writes, this means that having a criminal record becomes less of marker of a person’s character, no matter if that crime is minor or severe.