Gateway Drug or Moral Panic?: Contextualizing Changes in Drug-Related Arrests Amid Cannabis Legalization Policies

• In Event: Substance Use in the Contemporary U.S.: Antecedents and Consequences Contextualized

Abstract

Despite trending towards legalization for decades, the status of marijuana continues to be a highly debated topic in public discourse across the United States. Drawing from elements of moral panic and conflict theory, we examine how variations in state-level legalization relate to arrests for non-marijuana drug-related offenses across a 15-year period (2006-2020). Preliminary results suggest that more permissive levels of legalization (e.g., full medical and recreational cannabis) are associated with increased arrests for other drug offense types relative to more strict levels of marijuana control (e.g., illegality), indicating a shift in law enforcement priorities. This effect appeared particularly robust for non-marijuana substances that have been at the forefront of public concern such as methamphetamines and opiates. Notably, we also found that arrests for substances outside of cannabis appear to be on the rise generally regardless of legalization, suggesting that cannabis legalization is not a driver of increased incidents, but rather a driver of increased police attention on ‘more severe’ drug-related arrests. Finalized results and full analytic models will be discussed in detail, alongside implications for future research and public policy. Overall, findings tend to support moral panic and conflict perspectives; a significant portion of arrests resulting from the illegal status of marijuana appear to continue to occur after the legalization of marijuana under the “panic” of another substance.

Author

• Leanne Confer, Georgia Southern University