Hostname: page-component-5c6d5d7d68-thh2z Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-08-07T22:35:36.789Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Dissonance and Contradictions in the Origins of Marihuana Decriminalization

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 April 2024

Albert DiChiara  and
John F. Galliher
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The movement for removal of criminal penalties for possession of marihuana in the United States provides an important case study of the causes and process of decriminalization. Between 1973 and 1978, 11 states reduced criminal penalties for possession of small amounts of the drug, but the reform movement was fragile, brief, and limited to a few states. This case study suggests that reform was driven in part by “moral dissonance” resulting from the arrest of high-status offenders. Although public opinion has always been deeply divided on decriminalization of marihuana possession, a narrow “policy window” was created in the 1970s by the expressed concern of political leaders about the effect of arrest on high-status youths and the support of law enforcement agencies interested in efficient use of limited resources. Even after the window for reform closed at the end of the 1970s with a shift in national leadership, deep moral ambivalence renders criminalization symbolic and police place a low priority on marihuana arrests.

Type
Law and Political Community: Jordanian Settlers and American Marihuana Decriminalization
Information
Law & Society Review , Volume 28 , Issue 1 , 1994 , pp. 41 - 77
Copyright
Copyright © 1997 by The Law and Society Association.

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

The authors are grateful to William Chambliss, James Orcutt, James Galliher, Rea Galliher, Steven Murphy, and the Law & Society Review anonymous reviewers for assistance with various phases of this study. This research was funded by a grant from the Research Council of the Graduate School, University of Missouri–Columbia. An earlier version of this article was presented at the American Sociological Association annual meetings, Atlanta, August 1988.

References

References

Abelson, Herbert I., & Fishburne, Patricia M. (1977) National Survey on Drug Abuse. Rockville, MD: National Institute on Drug Abuse.Google Scholar
Adams, Anne (1993) “Report of Legislative Analyst,” Alabama Legislative Reference Service, Montgomery, AL, 16 March.Google Scholar
Alaska (1975) House Judiciary Committee, S.B. 350, 1 May.Google Scholar
Anderson, Patrick (1981) High in America: The True Story behind NORML and the Politics of Marijuana. New York: Viking Press.Google Scholar
Bachman, Jerald G., Johnston, Lloyd D., O'Malley, Patrick M., & Humphrey, Ronald H. (1986) “Changes in Marihuana Use Linked to Changes in Perceived Risks and Disapproval.” Monitoring the Future, Occasional Paper No. 19. Ann Arbor, MI: Institute for Social Research, Univ. of Michigan.Google Scholar
Baker, Donald P. (1977) “Md. Delegate Backs Study on Easing Marijuana Law,” Washington Post, 23 Feb., p. C7.Google Scholar
Barker, Karlyn, & Walsh, Edward (1974a) “Md. Senate Unit Kills 2 Bills to Cut Marijuana Penalties,” Washington Post, 1 March, p. B10.Google Scholar
Bennett, William S. (1989) “A Response to Milton Friedman,” Wall Street Journal, 19 Sept., p. A30.Google Scholar
Bourjaily, Vance (1973) “Marijuana Politics: Iowa, 1973,” Harper's Magazine, August, p. 12.Google Scholar
Boyko, Edgar Paul (1990) “Showdown over Pot-Smoking in Anchorage, Alaska,” Donahue Show, 16 Nov.Google Scholar
Buckley, John J. (1975) Remarks of Middlesex County Sheriff before the Human Services and Elderly Affairs Committee, 13 March, Massachusetts State Legislature.Google Scholar
Buckley, William F. Jr. (1972) “The Spirit of the Law,” National Rev., 8 Dec, p. 1348.Google Scholar
Burks, Edward C. (1977) “House Panel Finds Big Rise in Drug Use in New York's Schoolchildren,” New York Times, 8 Feb., sec. 1, p. 15.Google Scholar
Burstein, Paul (1985) Discrimination, Jobs, and Politics: The Struggle for Equal Employment Opportunity in the United States since the New Deal. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
California Senate Select Committee on Control of Marijuana (1974) Understanding the Social Costs of Marijuana. Sacramento: California Legislature.Google Scholar
CBS News (1991) “60 Minutes,” 1 Dec.Google Scholar
Chambliss, William J. (1979) “Contradictions and Conflicts in Law Creation,” in Spitzer, S., ed., 2 Research in Law and Sociology: A Research Annual. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press, Inc.Google Scholar
Claiborne, William L. (1973) “Mayor's Task Force Advises Legalizing Marijuana Here,” Washington Post, 6 March, p. Al.Google Scholar
Clark University Department of Government (1978) “Majority Supports Decriminalization of Marihuana,” Released July 14, State Library of Massachusetts.Google Scholar
Colorado (1975) House Judiciary Committee, H.B. 1027, 20 Feb.Google Scholar
Cummins, Leslie (1993) “Report of Legislative Research Commission,” Frankfort, KY, 24 Feb.Google Scholar
Dershowitz, Alan M. (1976) “Criminal Sentencing in the United States: An Historical and Conceptual Overview,” 423 Annals of the American Academy of Political & Social Science 117.Google Scholar
Edelman, Murray (1964) The Symbolic Uses of Politics. Urbana: Univ. of Illinois Press.Google Scholar
Edwards, Paul G. (1979) “Reduced Pot Penalties Asked,” Washington Post, 20 Jan., p. B2.Google Scholar
Ehrenreich, Barbara (1988) “Drug Frenzy,” MS, November, pp. 20–21.Google Scholar
Empey, LaMar T. (1978) American Delinquency: Its Meaning and Construction. Homewood, IL: Dorsey Press.Google Scholar
Engelmann, Larry (1979) Intemperance: The Lost War against Liquor. New York: Free Press.Google Scholar
Federal Bureau of Investigation (1977–92) Uniform Crime Reports. Washington, DC: GPO.Google Scholar
Feinberg, Lawrence (1973) “D.C. Doctors: Legalize Use of Marijuana,” Washington Post, 21 Nov., p. C2.Google Scholar
Fishburne, Patricia M., Abelson, Herbert I., & Cisin, Ira H. (1979) National Survey on Drug Abuse: Main Findings. Rockville, MD: National Institute on Drug Abuse.Google Scholar
Foley, Jodie Ann (1993) “Report of Archival Technician,” Montana Historical Society, Helena, MT, 6 April.Google Scholar
Galliher, John F., & Basilick, Linda (1979) “Utah's Liberal Drug Laws: Structural Foundations and Triggering Events,” 26 Social Problems 284.Google Scholar
Galliher, John F., & Cross, John Ray (1982) “Symbolic Severity in the Land of Easy Virtue: Nevada's High Marihuana Penalty,” 29 Social Problems 380.Google Scholar
Cross, John Ray (1983) Morals Legislation without Morality: The Case of Nevada. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers Univ. Press.Google Scholar
Galliher, John F., McCartney, James L., & Baum, Barbara E. (1974) “Nebraska's Marijuana Law: A Case of Unexpected Legislative Innovation,” 8 Law & Society Rev. 441.Google Scholar
Galliher, John F., & Walker, Allynn (1977) “The Puzzle of the Social Origins of the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937,” 24 Social Problems 367.Google Scholar
Poll, Gallup (1977) “Public Would not Legalize Marijuana Now, but Decriminalization Wins Support,” Gallup Opinion Index, Report No. 143 (June).Google Scholar
Poll, Gallup (1980) “Opposition to Legalization of Marijuana Unchanged,” Gallup Opinion Index, Report No. 179 (July).Google Scholar
Poll, Gallup (1985) “Public Resists More Liberal Marijuana Laws,” Gallup Report, Report No. 241 (Oct.).Google Scholar
Garland, Eric (1981) “Legal Marihuana: An Idea Going Up in Smoke,” Baltimore Magazine, Jan., p. 63.Google Scholar
Goode, Erich (1970) The Marijuana Smokers. New York: Basic Books.Google Scholar
Gross, Randy L. (1993) “Report of Archivist Supervisor,” Bureau of Archives and Records Management, Delaware Department of State, Dover, DE, 2 April.Google Scholar
Gusfield, Joseph R. (1963) Symbolic Crusade: Status Politics and the American Temperance Movement. Urbana: Univ. of Illinois Press.Google Scholar
Gusfield, Joseph R. (1981) The Culture of Public Problems: Drinking-Driving and the Symbolic Order. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Hagan, John (1980) “The Legislation of Crime and Delinquency: A Review of Theory, Method, and Research,” 14 Law & Society Rev. 603.Google Scholar
Helmer, John (1975) Drugs and Minority Oppression. New York: Seabury Press.Google Scholar
Helms, James (1993) “Report of Division of Library and Information Services,” Florida Department of State, Tallahassee, 15 March.Google Scholar
Himmelstein, Jerome L. (1983) The Strange Career of Marihuana: Politics and Ideology of Drug Control in America. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.Google Scholar
Himmelstein, Jerome L. (1986) “The Continuing Career of Marihuana: Backlash … within Limits,” 13 Contemporary Drug Problems 1.Google Scholar
Inciardi, James A. (1981) “Marijuana Decriminalization Research: A Perspective and Commentary,” 19 Criminology 145.Google Scholar
Isikoff, Michael (1988) “Administrative Judge Urges Medicinal Use of Marijuana,” Washington Post, 7 Sept., p. A2.Google Scholar
Jacob, Herbert (1988) Silent Revolution: The Transformation of Divorce Law in the United States. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Johnston, Lloyd D., O'Malley, Patrick M., & Bachman, Jerald G. (1981) Marihuana Decriminalization: The Impact on Youth, 1975–1980. Monitoring the Future, Occasional Paper, No. 13. Ann Arbor: Institute for Social Research, Univ. of Michigan.Google Scholar
Kerr, K. Austin (1985) Organized for Prohibition: A New History of the Anti-Saloon League. New Haven, CT: Yale Univ. Press.Google Scholar
Kingdon, John W. (1984) Agendas, Alternatives, and Public Policies. Boston: Little, Brown & Co.Google Scholar
Kyvig, David E. (1979) Repealing National Prohibition. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
LaGuardia Commission on Marihuana (1944) The Marihuana Problem in the City of New York: Sociological, Medical, Psychological, and Pharmacological Studies. New York: LaGuardia Commission on Marihuana, New York City.Google Scholar
Lempert, Richard (1974) “Toward a Theory of Decriminalization,” 3 Et Al. 1.Google Scholar
MacKenzie, John P. (1973) “Bar Moves on Drug, Sex Laws,” Washington Post, 9 Aug., pp. Al, A12.Google Scholar
Minnesota House Judiciary Committee (1975) Hearings on H.F. 749, 1 April.Google Scholar
Minnesota Senate Judiciary Committee (1975a) Hearings on H.F. 749, 21 March.Google Scholar
Minnesota Senate Judiciary Committee (1975b) Hearings on H.F. 749, 11 April.Google Scholar
Minnesota Senate (1975) Debate, H.F. 749, 12 May.Google Scholar
Mississippi Joint Judiciary Committee (1977) Hearings on Controlled Substances Act, 1 Feb.Google Scholar
Morgan, Patricia A. (1978) “The Legislation of Drug Law: Economic Crisis and Social Control,” 8 J. of Drug Issues 53.Google Scholar
Muir, Louise (1993) “Report of Library, Archives and Public Records,” Phoenix, AZ, 8 April.Google Scholar
Musto, David F. (1973) The American Disease: Origins of Narcotic Control. New Haven, CT: Yale Univ. Press.Google Scholar
National Commission on Marihuana & Drug Abuse (1972) Marihuana: A Signal of Misunderstanding. Washington, DC: GPO.Google Scholar
National Governors* Conference Center for Policy Research & Analysis (1977) Marijuana: A Study of State Policies and Penalties. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.Google Scholar
NBC News (1990) “Showdown over Pot-Smoking in Anchorage, Alaska,” Donahue Show, 16 Nov.Google Scholar
Nebraska Senate (1978) Debate, L.B. 808, 7 April.Google Scholar
New York Assembly (1977a) Debate, 16 May.Google Scholar
New York Assembly (1977b) Debate, 27 June.Google Scholar
New York Senate (1977) Debate, 28 June.Google Scholar
North Carolina Senate (1977) Debate, H.B. 1325, January 29.Google Scholar
Olson-Raymer, Gayle (1984) “National Juvenile Justice Policy: Myth or Reality,” in Decker, S. H., ed., Juvenile Justice Policy: Analyzing Trends and Outcomes. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
Pasztor, Andy (1986) “Reagans Issue Call for Crusade against Drugs,” Wall Street Journal, 15 Sept., p. 64.Google Scholar
Peterson, Ruth D. (1985) “Discriminatory Decision Making at the Legislative Level: An Analysis of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970,” 9 Law & Human Behavior 243.Google Scholar
Polsby, Nelson W. (1984) Political Innovation in America: The Politics of Policy Initiation. New Haven, CT: Yale Univ. Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Polsky, Ned (1967) Hustlers, Beats, and Others. Chicago: Aldine Publishing Co.Google Scholar
Post, Penny (1976) “Joint Effort,” Seventeen, Feb., p. 30.Google Scholar
President's Advisory Commission on Narcotics & Drug Abuse (1963) Final Report. Washington, DC: GPO (Nov.).Google Scholar
President's Commission on Law Enforcement & Administration of Justice (1968) Task Force Report: Narcotics and Drug Abuse. Washington, DC: GPO.Google Scholar
Raab, Selwyn (1977) “Stiff Antidrug Laws Held No Deterrent,” New York Times, 2 Jan., sec. 1, p. 1.Google Scholar
Rubin, H. Ted (1985) Juvenile Justice: Policy, Practice and Law. 2d ed. New York: Random House.Google Scholar
Scheerer, Sebastian (1978) “The New Dutch and German Drug Laws: Social and Political Conditions for Criminalization and Decriminalization,” 12 Law & Society Rev. 585.Google Scholar
Shepherd, R. Gordon (1979) Science News of Controversy: The Case of Marijuana. Journalism Monographs. No. 62, August. Lexington, KY: Association for Education in Journalism.Google ScholarPubMed
Silvers, Carol (1993) “Report of State Documents Coordinator,” Idaho State Library Boise, Idaho, 26 Feb.Google Scholar
Skolnick, Jerome (1978) House of Cards: The Legalization and Control of Casino Gambling. Boston: Little Brown & Co.Google Scholar
Skolnick, Jerome H., & Dombrink, John (1978) “The Legalization of Deviance,” 16 Criminology 193.Google Scholar
Smith, Terence (1978) “Carter Orders White House Staff to Follow Drug Laws or Resign,” New York Times, 25 July, pp. Al.Google Scholar
Sullivan, Ronald (1974) “Study Asks Easing of Marijuana Law,” New York Times, 12 Oct., p. 67.Google Scholar
Time (1990) “Alaska: Mowing the Grass,” 19 Nov., p. 47.Google Scholar
U.S. Bureau of the Census (1980) Census of Population: General Population Characteristics. Washington, DC: GPO.Google Scholar
U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy (1989) National Drug Control Strategy. Executive Office of the President. Washington, DC: GPO, September.Google Scholar
Waldron, Martin (1978) “Trenton Topics,” New York Times, 21 March, p. 75.Google Scholar
Weitzer, Ronald (1991) “Prostitutes' Rights in the United States: The Failure of a Movement,” 32 Sociological Q. 23.Google Scholar
Wooten, James T. (1977) “Carter Seeks to End Marijuana Penalty for Small Amounts,” New York Times, 3 Aug., pp. A1.Google Scholar

Cases Cited

People v. Summit, 183 Col. 421, 517 P.2d 850 (1974).Google Scholar
Downey v. Perini, 518 F.2d 1288 (1975).Google Scholar
Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Department of Justice. Opinion and Recommended Ruling, Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law and Decision of Administrative Judge: In the Matter of Marihuana Rescheduling Petition. Docket No. 86-22, 6 Sept. 1988.Google Scholar
State v. Kells, 199 Neb. 374, 259 N.W.2d 19 (1977).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ravin v. State, 537 P.2d 494 (1975).Google Scholar

Legislation Cited

Alaska Statutes. “Depressant, Hallucinogenic and Stimulant Drugs,” Ch. 12, p. 21, October 1975.Google Scholar
California, Statutes of. Ch. 248, p. 641, 9 July 1975.Google Scholar
Colorado, Session Laws of. Ch. 115, pp. 433–437, 1 July 1975.Google Scholar
Oklahoma, H.B. 1268 (1977).Google Scholar
Massachusetts, H. 3406, “Penalty Removal for Possession,” Social Welfare Committee (1974).Google Scholar
Massachusetts, H. 3587 “Legalize Sale of Marihuana,” Social Welfare Committee (1974).Google Scholar
Maine, Laws of. Ch. 499 at 1368, effective 1 March 1976 (1975).Google Scholar
Michigan, H.B. 6051, “Permits Private [Marihuana] Use in Residence” (1972).Google Scholar
Minnesota, Laws of. Ch. 42, p. 101, 11 March 1976.Google Scholar
Mississippi, Laws of. Ch. 482, p. 922, 1 July 1977.Google Scholar
Nebraska, Laws of. Legislative Bill 808, 20 April 1978, p. 817.Google Scholar
New York, Laws of. Ch. 360, 29 June 1977.Google Scholar
North Carolina, Laws of. Ch. 862, p. 1178 (1 July 1977).Google Scholar
Ohio, Laws of. H.B. No. 300, p. 2324, 1 July 1976 (1975).Google Scholar
Oregon, Laws. Ch. 680, p. 1521, 22 July 1973.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
South Dakota, Laws of. Ch. 158, p. 227, 1 April 1976.Google Scholar
South Dakota, Laws of. Ch. 188, p. 233, 24 March 1977.Google Scholar
U.S. Congress (1970) Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970, Public Law 91–513, 84 Stat. 1236 (1970), vol. 1, pp. 1236–96.Google Scholar