SOC313H1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Tom Tancredo
SOC313
1
Leture 11: Drug Poli II
Tuesday, March 29, 2016
Question of the Day: Where in the world can I buy pot legally?
Just “a Yes?
Drug Policy Regimes
Prohibition: the drug is prohibited to possess
De-penalization: the drug is still prohibited but the law enforcement tolerates its use
• This is an informal policy
• Police could be reprimanded or fired for arresting or punishing someone for drug use
De-riializatio: the drug is still prohiited la ut it is o loger defied as a rie
• Still deemed illegal; becomes an administrative offense
• You are still breaking the law but you will not be charged, arrested, or face criminal consequences
• There is STILL a law on the books; you are still TECHNICALLY breaking the law
• Polie offiers aret erel tolerating or looking the other way – a police officer may still take away
the drug but they will not put handcuffs on you; they can ticket you
• Still leaved the door open, unofficially, for a criminal sanction to come in if you cannot pay the fine
Legalization: the drug is permitted for use
Multiple Streams Theory: John Kingdon (1984)
• Problems stream: conditions comes to be seen as TROUBLING
• Policy stream: proposals are crafted to address troubling conditions (problems)
• Politics stream: political circumstances surrounding problems and policy
• Policy window: opportunities for policy change
Cannabis Depenalization in the Netherlands
• Both the Netherlads ad Gera eperieed a sudde ae of aais use
• Public opinion survey in BOTH countries showed that the majority of citizens supported
criminalization of cannabis use
• Cannabis illegal in Jamaica
• Belgium is often thought to be a country with legal cannabis use – BUT it is still illegal; have an
experiment called the Cannabis club; groups of people can form and once you define yourself as a
club, then you can apply for permits as a club to grow a certain amount of cannabis
o Cannabis is NOT legal but the government is choosing to look the other way
• Colorado or Washington DC – technically, buying cannabis products is still technically breaking the
law
Cannabis Legalization in Colorado
• Colorado Amendment 84: popular ballot initiative which was passed into law during the November
2012 US federal election
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