For the past several years, as the movement to legalize marijuana spread across the country, Mark Gorman heard a familiar refrain emerging from advocates who are supporting measures to approve medical or recreational cannabis use.

In Michigan, where voters last year approved recreational cannabis use, there was a Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol. The Drug Policy Alliance, a prominent group supporting legalization measures, said it “believes marijuana should be removed from the criminal justice system and regulated like alcohol and tobacco. In Congress, there is a “Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Act.”