From Madness to Mainstream: Evaluating the Influence of Economic Interests on Recreational Marijuana Laws

• In Event: Poster Session I

Abstract

In this paper, I examine how the economic interests of the cannabis industry have impacted recreational marijuana laws (“RMLs”), with particular focus on Colorado’s and California’s legislation. I begin with an introduction of the legal background of marijuana and a discussion of the shift from complete prohibition to an increasing trend of legalization. This is followed by a brief overview of the development of the cannabis industry and its growing potential to influence the legislative process in the context of RMLs. I then provide a discourse on the existing literature focused on marijuana laws, or lack thereof, and build a theoretical framework to study economic influence on RMLs, which combines institutional-anomie, legal endogeneity, and institutional-political theories. The crucial problem of continued racial disparity in enforcement of remaining drug laws (e.g. juvenile marijuana possession, possession of marijuana in quantities over the legal limit, unlicensed drug sales, etc.), and systematic exclusion of people of color from the marijuana industry are also discussed. I then present the preliminary results from my analysis of the lobbying efforts surrounding California’s RML, and small-scale content analysis of Colorado’s RML. The paper concludes with a discussion of policy implications and provides suggestions for future research.

Author

• Kevin Barnes, University of California, Irvine