What is this Drug?' The Past, Present & Future of American Marijuana Policy

Date of Award

2003

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Lewis, Eugene

Keywords

Drug Policy, Marijuana, Public Policy

Area of Concentration

Political Science

Abstract

Cannabis Sativa, commonly known as 'marijuana,' has been used by humans for thousands of years. Prior to the 20th century the majority of the American population had no knowledge that marijuana even existed. The 'reefer madness' scare of the 1930's brought marijuana to the public's attention with exaggerated horror stories of marijuana abuse by ethnic minorities. From this time on, American marijuana policy has been based primarily upon misinformation and scare tactics. This study investigates the current state of American marijuana prohibition, and describes the policy network that surrounds Amencan marijuana policy. The rhetoric that political actors use to discuss marijuana prohibition is analyzed through a framework that takes into account the historical patterns of American reactions to a number of psychoactive drugs. Both obstacles to and opportunities for marijuana law reform are explored in detail. The study concludes with a number of specific recommendations that attempt to improve American marijuana policy by minimizing marijuana abuse.

Rights

This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.

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