Attitudes Toward Marijuana and Crime Among Residents of New York Metropolitan Area Neighborhoods Where Marijuana is Highly Available

• In Event: Poster Session II

Abstract

The liberalization of drug laws in many states, including legalizing recreational marijuana use, suggests that Americans’ attitudes toward illegal drugs are changing. Using a data set of nearly 20,000 surveys of people living in the NYC areas collected by John Jay College students between 2012-2017, this poster examines the attributes of people who said that marijuana was “highly available” in their neighborhoods, and that the drug problem had gotten “worse” over the last year. It is hypothesized that this group will include those who live in low-income neighborhoods, have less educational attainment, and have more negative encounters with the police than the sample as a whole. The discussion focuses upon various explanations about why some people hold attitudes toward illegal drugs that do not seem to correspond with the nationwide trends.

Authors

• Mariah Caban, The Graduate Center, John Jay College of Criminal Justice / CUNY

• John Boone, The Graduate Center / John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY

• Luis Tejada, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY

• Grischel Mena, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY

• Michael Wong, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY