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I Public policy scholar.. In my book, “From criminalization to decriminalization of marijuana: politics of social control, “I aim to provide a historical overview of marijuana law and its impact on minorities.
Unequal mitigation
Some drug laws related to marijuana have been relaxed. As of the writing of this article in early 2020, 25 states have implemented decriminalization reforms. 11 states that allow adult recreational use.. While such reforms have a direct impact on adults over the age of 21, they also have an indirect impact on young Americans.
Marijuana is still illegal for people under the age of 21, but the following evidence has emerged: Decriminalization is increasing the number of children WHO Illegal consumption of weeds..
As I wrote in the book, young people have always been the main buyers of marijuana. Marijuana smoking has become an important part of growth for many US teens. This is a fact not recognized in the advocacy analysis of marijuana reform.
Moreover, Crime data shows Even in the most tolerant legal environment Minority youth continue to be disproportionately arrested I was convicted of marijuana.
Young people using marijuana
Self-reported from 2000 to 2014 Usage of Americans over the age of 15 has doubled.. These fees include teens and people under the age of 21 who continue to use marijuana and are most likely to be illegal.
Proponents of marijuana reform ignore the fact that looser legislation promotes the use of more marijuana, especially by young and marginalized Americans who buy drugs in illegal markets.
For example, arrest The data shows that in ColoradoThe legalization of recreational use by persons over the age of 21 has significantly increased the arrest rate of African Americans and Hispanics under the statutory age limit. At the same time, arrests of white minors have declined.
In Washington, all marijuana arrests fell by 90% between 2008 and 2014, but the “risk” of African Americans remained unchanged. This means that they are twice as likely to be arrested on charges of marijuana as whites.
In other words, decriminalization does little to change historical patterns. National Marijuana Arrest Trends..
What drives reform?
Liberal American Tends to believe in legalization of marijuana Promote reforms.
There are three distinct categories of marijuana policy reform. Decriminalization of owning a small amount of marijuana, legalization of medical marijuana, and decriminalization of recreational use.
The prevalence of reforms gained momentum in 2000. Hawaii time When Nevada Medical marijuana legalized through the state legislature.
This marked the beginning of the political normalization of marijuana reform.Previously, medical marijuana legislation was primarily Voting initiative In states with a constitution that are taking direct democratic measures.
In my book, I analyzed the political, economic, and demographic predictors of each type of policy reform from 2000 to 2014.The result is increased marijuana usage, a voting initiative that allows voters to speak out about the issue, and the experience of neighboring countries. The main factors driving decriminalization in general..
Utilization was the strongest predictor in all three cases of reform. Until the wave of decriminalization began 20 years ago, they hadn’t changed much. With the amendment of state law, utilization began to increase slightly, but is steadily increasing. Since 2000, it has doubled nationwide.
The strongest spikes are in states that are not only known as leaders in decriminalization, but are also relatively tolerant in terms of ownership, access and surveillance. Like Washington and Vermont..
States with a relatively large population of African Americans, such as Mississippi, North Carolina, and New York. First likely to decriminalize a small amount of property, Probably in an attempt to tackle social injustice.
State such as Maryland, Virginia When Rhode Island Previously legalized medical use without decriminalizing small amounts of possession.
Decriminalization of entertainment use has occurred Mainly as a function of high marijuana utilization In states such as Massachusetts, Oregon, and Colorado.
result
Reports on youth arrest rates may indicate unintended consequences of decriminalization.
These results include increased police discretion, providing incentives for youth consumption in illegal markets, and exacerbating racial problems in juvenile justice.
If reform advocates want to address the historical mistakes of the war on drugs, they must understand how to tackle the cultural promotion of marijuana use, which is closely linked to the political promotion of decriminalization.
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This article will be republished from conversation, A non-profit news site aimed at sharing ideas from academic experts. It was written by: Nikolai Angelov, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth..
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Nikolay Anguelov does not work, consult, own shares or receive funds for any company or organization that will benefit from this article.
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