A Multistate Appraisal of Racial and Social Equity Policies Enacted in Conjunction with Marijuana Reform

• In Event: Policy Panel: Recreational Marijuana Legalization in New Jersey: Examining Public Opinion, Policy Change, and Crime Impacts

Abstract

Objective: This paper systematically characterizes variation in marijuana legalization law and policy to situate the degree of novelty of New Jersey’s approach that included racial and social equity measures within other states’ approaches. It will systematically describe the prevalence of social and equity measures in legalization processes, construct a continuum of reform across enacted measures, and categorize approaches along this continuum.

Data/Methods: The paper draws data from state-specific statutes and policy directives in places where marijuana has been legalized for medical and/or recreational uses to identify the prevalence and character of any included equity measures. Constructions of theoretically and empirically informed data groupings will serve as the foundation to systematically construct a reform continuum, classify states, and contextualize New Jersey’s policy.

Results: Findings indicate substantial state and geographic variation in the inclusion of legal system reforms, such as criminal record expungements or market revenue reinvestment, within legalization efforts.

Conclusions/Implications: Inconsistent adaptation of equity measures indicates a variable acknowledgment of and policy response to historic harms of drug law enforcement. Residents in states with fewer, if any, reparative measures will continue to face barriers imposed by prior enforcement relative to those in different states with more systematic inclusion of equity considerations.

Authors

• Kathleen Powell, Drexel University

• Jordan Hyatt, Drexel University

• Loni Philip Tabb, Drexel University

• Nate Link, Rutgers University, Camden

• Sarah E. Lageson, Rutgers University, Newark

• Christopher Uggen, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities