Precarity and Protection: Race, Employment, and the Socially Contingent Cannabis–Illicit Drug Link.

• In Event: Advances in the Sociology of Cannabis

Abstract

The so-called “gateway hypothesis” — that cannabis use inevitably precedes use of harder illicit drugs — is increasingly contested. This paper reframes the cannabis–illicit-drug relationship as socially contingent rather than pharmacologically predetermined and investigates how race and employment status shape that association. Utilizing nationally representative data from the 2023 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), this paper examines how social location — specially the intersection of race and employment status —shapes the relationship between cannabis use and the consumption of cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine. Drawing on Social Control Theory, the analysis employs multivariate Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) and binary logistic regression to assess the impact of employment precarity on drug transitions. Findings indicate that while past-month cannabis use is a robust predictor of illicit drug use, this effect is significantly moderated by socioeconomic and cultural factors. Employment precarity acts as a “accelerator”: as unemployed individuals and part-time workers exhibit a substantially higher likelihood of progressing to harder substances than full-time employees, suggesting that labor market stability provides vital stakes in conformity. Additionally, this study identifies a cultural buffer effect among minority populations. Blacks, Asian-Pacific, and Hispanic cannabis users are significantly less likely to use other illicit drugs compared to their white counterparts. These results suggest that racial and ethnic community structures may provide unique protective factors that decouple cannabis use from further involvement in illicit drugs. By highlighting how economic vulnerability intensifies and cultural capital mitigates the gateway effect, this research challenges monolithic drug policies and calls for a socially situated understanding of substance use trajectories in the post-legalization era.

Author

• Raymond Appiah, University of Utah